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.w^ 


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LITTLE  SUNBEAMS. 


I. 
BELLE  POWERS'  LOCKET. 


§g  %  ggme  %nfyax. 


i. 

THE    BESSIE    BOOKS. 

Six  vols,  in  a  neat  box.     $7.50. 

The  volumes  also  sold  separately;  viz.:  Bessie  at  the  Seaside;  City, 
Friends;  Mountains;  School;  Travels,  at  SI. 25  each. 

"Really,  it  makes  the  heart  younger,  warmer,  better,  to  bathe  it 
afresh  in  such  familiar,  natural  scenes,  where  benevolence  of  most 
practical  and  blessed  utility  is  seen  developing  itself,  from  first  to  last, 
in  such  delightful  symmetry  and  completeness  as  may,  and  we  hope  will, 
secure  many  imitators."  —  Watchman  and  Reflector. 


II. 

THE    FLOWERETS. 

A  Series  of  Stories  on  the  Commandments. 
Six  vols,  in  a  neat  box.    $3.60. 

The  vols,  can  also  be  had  separately  ;  viz. :  1.  Violet's  Idol ;  2.  Daisy's 
Work;  3.  Rose's  Temptation ;  4.  Lily's  Lesson;  5.  Hyacinthe  and  her 
Brothers ;  6.  Pinkie  and  the  Rabbits,  at  75  cents  each. 

"The  child- world  we  are  here  introduced  to  is  delightfully  real. 
The  children  talk  and  act  so  naturally  that  we  feel  real  live  childrea 
must  have  sat  for  their  portraits.1'  —  Baltimore  Christian  Advocate 


BELLE    POWERS' 


LOCKET. 


"YE    ARE    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    WORLD." 


BY 

JOANNA   H.  MATHEWS, 

AUTHOR  OP  THE  "  BESSIE  BOOKS  "  AND  "  THE  FLOWERETS. 


NEW    YORK: 
ROBERT  CARTER  AND  BROTHERS, 

530  Broadway. 

1882. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1871,  by 

ROBERT  CARTES  4ND  BROTHERS, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


University  Press: 
John  Wilson  &  Son,  Cambridge. 


JBeTjfcaUH 

TO 

BESSIE   MUIR   FISHER. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  Belle  and  her  Papa      ...          .     .  9 

Ii.  An  Excitement 25 

III.  An  Unpleasant  Surprise 40 

IV.  Sunlight 57 

V.  A  Day  with  Maggie  and  Bessie    .     .  73 

VI.  Proverb-Pictures 88 

VII.  Mabel's  New  Whim 104 

VIII.  The  Locket 118 

IX.  Belle's  Misfortune 133 

X.  A  Terrible  Loss 149 

XI.  Belle's  Grief 163 

XII.  Confession  and  Repentance  ....  180 

XIII.  Mabel's  Generosity 196 

XIV.  Found 219 


BELLE  POWERS'   LOCKET. 


I. 


BELLE  AND  HER  PAPA. 


HEAR  little  Belle ! 

There  she  sat,  upon  a  low  stool, 
doll  and  picture-book  lying  unheeded 
at  her  feet,  as  she  watched  the  slanting  beams 
of  light  which  streamed  in  between  the  crim- 
son curtains  and  poured  life  and  gladness 
over  all  within  the  pleasant  room.  There  she 
sat,  watching  them  thoughtfully,  yet  with  a 
half-smile  upon  her  lips,  as  they  travelled 
slowly  and  steadily  from  spot  to  spot,  now 
over  the  carpet,  now  up  the  table-cloth,  now 


io  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

touching  the  gilded  mirror-frame  and  making 
it  flash  with  added  brightness,  and  now  fall- 
ing softly  on  a  vase  of  lovely  flowers  and 
bringing  out  their  brilliant  colors  in  new  and 
more  perfect  beauty.  And  now  in  their  noise- 
less but  busy  march  they  fell  upon  her  own 
little  self,  the  brightest  and  sunniest  thing 
in  all  the  room,  to  the  loving  eyes  which 
watched  her. 

"What  is  my  darling  thinking  of?"  asked 
Mr.  Powers,  breaking  the  stillness. 

In  an  instant  Belle  was  upon  his  knee  and 
nestling  close  to  him ;  but  she  did  not  answer 
his  question  till  it  was  repeated. 

"  What  were  you  thinking  of,  my  daugh- 
ter ?  "  he  asked  again,  laying  his  hand  fondly 
on  the  little  round  head,  with  its  short,  dark 
rings  of  hair. 

"  About  sunbeams,  papa,"  answered  the 
child,  turning  her  eyes  again  upon  the  bar  of 
light,  which  was  now  quivering  and  shimmer- 
ing among  and  over  the  prisms  of  the  chan- 
delier above  their  heads. 


Belle  and  her  Pafa.  n 

"  Ay,  they  are  very  pretty,"  said  her  father. 

"But  it  was  not  about  those  sunbeams, 
papa,  though  they  did  make  the  thinking 
come  into  my  head.  It  was  about  being  a 
sunbeam.  I  would  like  to  be  a  little  sun- 
beam, papa." 

"  And  so  you  may,  and  so  you  are,  my  dar- 
ling," said  the  father,  "  You  are  papa's  little 
sunbeam,  the  brightest  sunbeam  he  has  on 
earth;  and  his  way  would  be  very  dark  and 
sad  without  you." 

"  Yes,  papa,"  said  Belle :  u  you  mean  I  am 
your  comfort,  and  you  are  my  sunbeam,  papa, 
'cause  you  are  my  comfort ;  but  I  was  think- 
ing I  would  like  to  be  a  sunbeam  to  other 
people  too.  I  wonder  if  I  could.  Maggie 
Bradford  says  I  could." 

"  I  am  sure  you  could,  darling." 

"  Maggie  does  say  such  nice  things,  papa ; 
and  so  does  Bessie ;  and  sometimes  when  a 
thing  does  not  seem  very  pleasant,  or  as  if  I 
would  like  to  do  it,  they  talk  about  it  so  that 
it  seems  very  nice  indeed,  and  so  very  right 


12  Belle  Powers'  Locket* 

that  I  feel  in  a  great  hurry  to  do  it.  That  is, 
if  I  do  not  feel  naughty ;  for  do  you  know, 
papa,"  —  and  Belle's  voice  took  a  mournful 
tone,  —  "  do  you  know  sometimes  I  am  so  very 
naughty  that  I  feel  like  doing  a  thing  just 
because  I  know  I  oughtn't.  Papa,  could  you 
have  b'lieved  that  of  me?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Powers,  smiling :  "  I  could 
believe  that  of  any  one,  Belle." 

"  Could  you,  papa  ?  "  said  Belle,  solemnly. 
"  Well,  that  does  make  me  a  great  relief;  for 
when  I  used  to  get  good  again  after  I  had 
been  so  naughty  as  that,  I  used  to  think  I 
must  be  'most  the  wickedest  child  that  ever 
lived.  But  one  day  when  I  told  Maggie  and 
Bessie  about  it,  Maggie  said  sometimes  she 
felt  that  way  too ;  and  then  we  made  each 
other  promise  to  keep  it  a  great  secret,  and 
never  tell  anybody." 

"  And  so  you  keep  your  promise  by  telling 
me,"  said  her  father. 

"  0  papa !  we  didn't  mean  our  fathers  and 
mothers.    We  don't  think  you're  anybody." 


Belle  and  her  Pafa.  13 

"  Thank  you,"  replied  her  father,  taking 
the  compliment  as  it  was  meant,  though 
somewhat  amused  at  her  way  of  putting  it. 
"  That  is  right,  dear.  It  is  better  for  little 
children  not  to  mean  their  fathers  and  mothers 
when  they  promise  not  to  '  tell  anybody.'  " 

"  Yes,  papa ;  and  then  you  see  you  have 
nobody  but  me  to  tell  you  secrets,  so  I  would 
feel  too  badly  not  to  do  it.  But  I  want  to 
know  about  being  a  sunbeam,  papa;  how  I 
can  be  a  sunbeam  to  'most  everybody,  or  to  a 
good  many  people." 

"  What  did  Maggie  Bradford  say  about  it  ?" 
asked  Mr.  Powers :  "  let  me  hear  that." 

"  Why,  it  was  yesterday,  when  I  was  spend- 
ing the  day  with  Maggie  and  Bessie,"  an- 
swered Belle  ;  "  and  it  was  cloudy,  and  the  sun 
came  out  from  the  clouds,  and  Maggie  said  — 
Papa,  Maggie  is  the  smartest  child ;  and  do 
you  know  what  I  heard  Mrs.  Norris  say  about 
her  ?  She  said  Maggie  had  quite  a  —  quite  a 
—  a  —  talent,  that  was  the  word,  quite  a  talent 
for  poetry.     Are  you  not  very  glad,  papa,  that 


1 4  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

my  in-sep-era-ble  has  a  talent  for  poetry  ? 
Don't  you  think  that  is  a  pretty  nice  thing  for 
a  child  to  have  ?  " 

"  Yery  nice ;  and  I  am  indeed  happy  that 
my  Belle  has  such  a  talented  friend,"  said 
Mr.  Powers,  who  knew  that  he  could  not 
please  his  little  daughter  more  than  by  join- 
ing in  the  praise  and  admiration  she  show- 
ered upon  her  young  friends  and  playmates, 
Maggie  and  Bessie  Bradford,  —  "very  nice, 
indeed ;  but  still  I  do  not  hear  what  Maggie 
said  about  the  sunbeams." 

"  Well,  such  a  beautiful  sunbeam  came  out 
of  the  cloud,  papa ;  and  it  made  every  thing 
look  so  bright  and  pleasant,  even  though  the 
clouds  were  there  yet ;  and  I  said  if  I  wasn't 
myself,  I  would  like  to  be  a  sunbeam,  'cause 
every  one  was  so  glad  to  see  it,  and  it  seemed 
to  make  things  so  bright  and  happy  ;  and  then 
Maggie  said  we  could  be  ourselves  and  sun- 
beams too.  Not  really,  true  sunbeams,  you 
know,  but  like  sunbeams,  to  make  all  bright 
and  glad  about  us ;  and  she  said  we  did  that 


Belle  and  her  Papa.  15 

when  we  helped  each  ofer,  or  when  we  tried 
to  make  sorry  people  feel  glad,  and  comforted 
them,  or  did  a  kind  thing  that  made  some  one 
feel  nice  and  happy.  And  Bessie  and  I  were 
very  proud  of  her  for  saying  such  a  nice  thing 
as  that,  papa;  and  we  begged  her  to  make 
some  poetry  about  it,  and  she  made  one  verse  ; 
and  then  Bessie  said  she  b'lieved  we  could  be 
sunbeams  for  Jesus  if  we  chose,  and  she  coaxed 
Maggie  to  make  another  verse  about  that,  and 
we  learned  it.  Shall  I  say  them  to  you,  papa  ? " 
"  Certainly,"  said  her  father ;  and  Belle 
repeated  the  following  simple  lines,  which 
she  plainly  thought  extremely  fine:  — 

"  I  wish  I  was  a  sunbeam, 
To  sparkle  all  the  day ; 
And  make  all  glad  and  happy 
Who  came  across  my  way. 

"  I'd  like  to  shine  for  Jesus, 
And  show  to  every  one 
That  all  my  light  and  brightness 
Did  come  from  Him,  my  Sun." 

"  There,  what  do  you  think  of  that,  papa  ?  " 
she  asked  in  a  tone  of  triumph,  which  showed 


16  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

her  own  delight  and  pride  in  her  little  friend's 
composition. 

"  I  think  it  very  fair  for  a  nine-years-old 
girl,"  answered  her  father. 

"I  think  it  is  be-ew-tiful,"  said  Belle. 
"  Maggie  writes  lots  and  lots  of  po'try,  and 
she  copies  it  all.  Some  of  it  is  pious  po'try, 
and  she  puts  that  in  one  book  called  '  Brad- 
ford's Divine  Songs,'  and  she  puts  the  unpious 
in  another  called  '  Bradford's  Moral  Poems ; ' 
and  Bessie  and  I  learn  a  great  deal  of  them. 
They're  splen-did,  and  she  is  just  the  smart- 
est child,  —  Bessie  says  she  is." 

If  Bessie  said  a  thing,  it  must  be  so,  accord- 
ing to  Belle's  thinking ;  and  her  father  did  not 
dispute  the  fact.     Belle  went  on,  — 

"  And  that  is  the  kind  of  a  sunbeam  I 
would  like  to  be,  papa,  'cause  I  s'pose  that  is 
the  best  kind,  —  to  have  the  light  and  bright- 
ness come  from  Jesus,  —  and  it  would  make 
me  nicer  and  pleasanter  to  every  one." 

"  Yes,  my  darling." 

"  But  I  don't  see  how  I  am  to  be  much  of 


Belle  and  her  Paj>a.  17 

a  sunbeam  to  any  one  but  you,  papa.  Maggie 
and  Bessie  seem  to  know  how  without  any  one 
telling  them,  but  I  don't  know  so  very  well. 
They  are  my  sunbeams  next  to  you,  I  know 
that :  are  they  not,  papa  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed,  my  daughter.  God  bless 
them,"  said  her  father,  speaking  from  his 
heart  as  he  remembered  all  that  these  two 
dear  little  girls  had  been  to  his  motherless 
child ;  what  true  "  sunbeams  "  they  had  proved 
to  her,  cheering  and  brightening  the  young 
life  which  had  been  so  early  darkened  by  her 
great  loss.  Gay,  bright,  and  happy  themselves, 
they  were  not  only  willing,  but  anxious,  to 
pour  some  of  the  sunshine  of  their  own  joy- 
ous hearts  into  those  of  others  who  had  not 
so  many  blessings. 

All  this,  and  more  than  this,  had  her  young 
friends  done  for  the  lonely  little  Belle,  not 
only  bringing  back  the  light  to  her  sad- 
dened eye,  and  the  smiles  to  her  once  pitiful 
face,  but  also  giving  her  a  new  interest  by 
awakening  in    her    the  wish   to   shed   some 


18  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

happy  rays  on  the  lot  of  others,  and  leading 
her  by  the  shining  of  their  own  example  to 
become  more  obedient,  gentle,  and  unselfish 
than  she  had  ever  been  before. 

"  Daphne  told  me  I'll  have  a  whole  lot  of 
money  when  I  am  a  big  lady,"  continued 
Belle  ;  "  and  then  I  should  think  I  could  be  a 
sunbeam  to  ever  so  many  people,  and  do  ever 
so  much  to  make  them  glad  and  happy.  I'll 
build  a  room,  oh,  ever  so  big  !  and  bring  into 
it  all  the  lame  and  deaf  and  blind  and  poor 
people,  and  make  them  have  such  a  nice  time. 
The  good  ones,  I  mean:  I  won't  have  any 
naughty  people  that  do  bad  things.  I  shan't 
be  a  sunbeam  to  them,  or  have  them  in  my 
sunbeam- home  ;  no,  nor  the  disagreeable  ones 
either,  who  don't  have  nice  manners  or  be 
pleasant.  I'll  take  ugly  people,  'cause  they 
can't  help  it ;  but  everybody  can  be  pleasant 
and  polite  if  they  choose,  and  I  shan't  help 
the  old  things  who  are  not.    Ugh  !  " 

"  But  that  is  not  the  way  Jesus  wants  us  to 
feel,  dear.     When  He  was  here  on  earth,  He 


Belle  and  her  Pafa,  19 

taught  as  that  we  must  try  to  do  good  to  all, 
that  we  might  be  the  children  of  our  Father 
in  Heaven,  who,  He  tells  us,  '  makes  His  sun 
to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  send- 
eth  rain  on  the  just  and  the  unjust.'  Do  you 
know  what  that  means  ?  " 

"Urn  —  m  —  m  —  yes,  papa,  I  b'lieve  so," 
answered  Belle,  half  unwillingly :  "  I  s'pose  it 
means  I  ought  to  try  to  be  a  sunbeam  to  dis- 
agreeable people,  just  the  same  as  if  they 
were  pleasant." 

"  Belle,"  said  Mr.  Powers,  "  do  you  remem- 
ber the  story  Mrs.  Rush  told  you  of  Lem  and 
Dolly,  those  naughty,  unkind  children  who 
treated  your  little  friends  so  badly ;  and  who 
were  so  disagreeable  and  rude  in  every  way, 
both  in  looks  and  behavior  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  indeedy ! "  answered  Belle,  in 
quite  a  different  tone  from  that  she  had  last 
used.  k- 1  never  could  forget  that  story  ;  and 
now  I  do  see  what  you  mean,  papa.  Maggie  and 
Bessie  were  sunbeams  to  poor  Lem  and  Dolly, 
for  all  they  were  so  very  naughty  to  them." 


20  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

"  Yes,  dear ;  and  they  lighted  the  path  to 
Jesus  so  that  Dolly  found  the  way  to  Him 
before  she  was  taken  from  this  world ;  and  by 
all  that  we  hear  it  may  be  that  some  ray  of 
light  has  fallen  across  poor  Lem's  way  too." 

"  Yes,"  said  Belle,  eagerly ;  "  and  the  ofer 
day  Maggie  and  Bessie's  papa  had  a  letter 
from  the  captain  of  the  ship  what  Lem  is  a 
sailor  on,  and  he  said  he  was  a  real  good  boy, 
and  tried  to  do  right  all  he  could.  But,  papa, 
you  see  I  don't  know  any  very  dirty,  ragged, 
horrid  children  to  be  a  sunbeam  to ;  so  what 
shall  I  do  ?  I  s'pose  when  I  say  my  prayers 
I  could  ask  God  to  let  there  be  some  for  me. 
I'll  ask  Him  to-night  to  let  there  be  six  dirty 
beggars,  three  boys  and  three  girls,  that  I  can 
be  good  and  kind  to,  and  show  the  way  to 
Him.     Wouldn't  that  be  a  good  plan,  papa  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  think  I  would  hardly  do  that," 
said  her  father,  smiling.  "  There  is  quite 
enough  of  misery  in  the  world  without  asking 
for  more  only  that  we  may  cure  it ;  and  some 
of  it  is  pretty  sure  to  come  in  your  way.     But 


Belle  and  her  Pafa.  21 

any  little  child  may  in  her  daily  life  shed  light 
and  brightness  around  her,  even  though  it 
does  not  happen  to  her  to  find  any  such  spe- 
cial work  as  was  given  to  your  Maggie  and 
Bessie ;  and  with  the  will  and  heart  to  do  it, 
I  think  my  Belle  will  be  a  sunbeam  indeed  to 
all  with  whom  she  has  to  do." 

Now  as  you  may  not  know  the  story  of 
which  Belle  and  her  father  were  speaking, 
you  may  like  to  hear  something  about  it ;  and 
you  shall  have  it  in  a  few  words. 

These  two  little  girls,  Maggie  and  Bessie 
Bradford,  the  young  friends  of  whom  Belle 
thought  so  much,  went  one  summer  to  spend 
the  season  among  the  mountains ;  and,  while 
there,  fell  in  with  two  poor,  neglected,  and 
wicked  children,  named  Lem  and  Dolly  Owen. 
From  these  children,  who  seemed  to  love  mis- 
chief and  wickedness  for  their  own  sake,  and 
to  feel  a  spite  toward  all  who  were  better  off 
than  themselves,  Maggie  and  Bessie,  and  in- 
deed all  their  family,  had  much  to  bear. 
Every  petty  annoyance  and  vexation  which 


22  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

they  could  invent  was  tried  by  Lem  and  Dolly 
to  trouble  and  grieve  those  who  had  never 
injured  them.  But  although  it  did  cost  them  a 
hard  struggle,  the  two  dear  little  girls  had  for- 
given all  this,  and  so  won  upon  the  miserable 
outcasts  by  the  sweet,  forgiving  kindness  they 
had  shown,  that  the  latter  were  at  last 
brought  to  look  upon  them  as  friends,  and  to 
feel  sorry  for  all  the  evil  they  had  done  to 
them.  Nor  was  this  all ;  for  by  their  simple 
teachings  and  bright  example  they  had  point- 
ed out  to  poor,  sick  Dolly  the  way  to  Jesus ; 
and  before  she  died  she  was  led  to  His  feet, 
and  knew  that  He  could  save  her  and  take 
her  to  dwell  with  Him.  So,  happy  and  trust- 
ing, she  had  gone  from  a  world  where  she 
had  known  little  but  misery,  to  that  other 
and  better  home  where  sin  and  suffering  never 
come ;  while  Lem,  softened  partly  by  his  sis- 
ter's death,  had  been  put  under  the  care  of 
kind  Mr.  Porter  for  a  while,  and  was  now,  as 
you  have  learned  from  Belle's  words,  gone  as 
a  sailor  boy  with  a  prospect  and  promise  of 
5oing  well. 


Belle  and  her  Pa^pa.  23 

All  this,  and  much  more  which  it  is  not 
necessary  to  repeat,  —  since,  if  you  choose, 
you  may  learn  all  about  it  in  a  little  book 
called  "  Bessie  among  the  Mountains,"  —  had 
been  told  to  Belle  by  some  of  Maggie's  and 
Bessie's  older  friends  ;  and  had,  if  possible, 
increased  her  love  and  admiration  for  them. 
She  had  received  such  tenderness  and  affec- 
tion from  them  herself,  this  motherless  little 
one,  and  their  friendship  had  brought  her  such 
new  happiness  and  comfort,  that  it  was  not 
surprising  that  she  did  indeed  look  upon  them 
as  her  "  sunbeams  next  to  papa,"  and  love 
them  with  her  whole  heart.  * 

Whether  Belle  and  her  papa  would  have 
talked  much  more  cannot  be  told,  for  now 
they  were  interrupted  by  a  knock  at  the  door ; 
and  when  Mr.  Powers  said,  "  Come  in,"  a 
waiter  obeyed,  bringing  a  note  directed  to  — ■ 

"  Miss  Belle  Powers, 
Care  of  her  Papa, 
In  the  hottel, 
U.  S.  of  America, 
New  York." 


24  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

Happily,  this  note  had  not  gone  by  post, 
but  had  been  brought  by  one  servant-man  who 
knew  for  whom  it  was  intended,  and  had 
given  it  to  another,  who  brought  it  directly 
to  the  young  lady  whose  name  it  bore.  Other- 
wise, I  think  it  just  possible  that  it  might 
never  have  reached  her. 


II. 

AN  EXCITEMENT. 

[AT  is  Maggie's  writing,"  said  Belle, 
seizing  eagerly  upon  the  note,  as 
the  man  handed  it  to  her.  "  I 
s'pose  it's  about  something  nice  :  Maggie's 
notes  always  are,  —  Bessie's  too.  Please  read 
it  to  me,  papa." 

Mr.  Powers  did  as  he  was  asked ;  and  when 
Belle  had  opened  the  envelope,  which  was  a 
part  of  the  business  she  must  of  course  attend 
to  for  herself,  read  aloud  these  words,  written 
in  Maggie  Bradford's  large,  round  hand :  — 

"  Oh  !  my  dear,  darling  Belle,  —  We  are 
so  glad  Bessie  and  I  are  that  your  papa  has 


26  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

made  up  his  mind  not  to  take  you  away  to 
your  home  in  the  south  this  winter.^  And  not 
to  have  you  go  in  that  horrid  steamer  and  sail 
with  monsters  of  the  deep  and  be  seasick, 
which  is  such  a  horrible  fate  that  I  could  not 
wish  it  of  my  worst  enemy  of  which  I  hope  I 
have  none  in  this  world  or  that  which  is  to 
come.  And  because  we  are  so  glad  about  it 
we  wanted  to  have  a  public  rejoicing,  and 
mamma  says  we  may,  and  if  you  don't  know 
what  a  public  rejoicing  is  it  means  when  peo- 
ple are  very  glad  about  something  and  want 
other  people  to  be  glad  too  and  so  they  make 
a  great  fuss  and  have  something  very  nice. 
And  so  in  the  present  case  mamma  says  you 
can  come  and  make  the  public  rejoicing  with 
us  to-morrow  afternoon  and  Lilly  Norris  is 
coming  too  and  Nellie  and  Carrie  Ransom. 
And  mamma  is  going  to  let  us  have  a  very 
nice  supper  and  some  mottos,  of  which  she 
knows  you  are  fond  as  I  suppose  are  all  man- 
kind or  ought  to  be  if  they  have  any  sense, 
and  we  think  she  is  the  very  dearest  mamma 


An  Excitement.  27 

that  ever  lived  and  I  hope  I  shall  be  her  grate- 
ful child  as  I  am  yours  till  death  and  Bessie 

the  same. 

"Maggie  Stanton  Bradford." 

"  Oh?  yes !  I'll  go,  'course  I  will,"  said  Belle, 
clapping  her  hands,  as  her  father  finished 
reading  the  note ;  and  too  much  accustomed 
to  going  and  coming  to  and  from  Mrs.  Brad- 
ford's house  as  she  pleased  to  think  it  neces- 
sary to  ask  permission.  "  'Course  I'll  go.  And, 
papa,  isn't  this  a  lovely  note  ?  and  isn't  Maggie 
just  the  smartest  child  to  write  so  nicely  ?  I 
think  she  writes  just  as  good  notes  and  letters 
as  big  people :  yes,  I  think  hers  are  a  good 
deal  more  interesting  than  big  people's.  And 
she  makes  me  understand  every  thing  too. 
I'm  glad  she  told  me  what  a  public  rejoicing 
was,  'cause  I  didn't  know  before  ;  and  isn't 
that  nice  and  pretty  about  not  going  away  and 
monsters  of  the  deep  ?  " 

"  But  you  must  send  your  answer :  Patrick 
is  waiting,"  said  Mr.  Powers. 

"Oh!   to   be   sure,"   said  Belle.    "Please 


28  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

write  it  for  me,  papa ; "  and  accordingly  her 
father  wrote  as  she  dictated :  — 

"  Dear  Maggie  and  Bessie,  —  I  guess  I 

will ;  and  I  thank  you  very  much  for  making 

a  public  rejoicing,  and  mottoes  and  all.    Your 

mamma  is  so  good ;  and  I  love  her  and  you, 

and  hope   I'll   be   a   sunbeam  to   everybody. 

Good-by. 

"  Your  own  precious 

"  Belle." 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day  Belle  was 
taken  to  the  home  of  her  young  playmates  by 
Daphne,  the  old  colored  nurse  who  took  care 
of  her.  She  was  in  very  good  time,  you  may 
be  sure  ;  for  she  insisted  on  going  immediately 
after  her  own  early  dinner ;  and  Daphne  was 
too  much  accustomed  to  giving  her  her  own 
way  in  all  things  to  dream  of  disputing  her 
wish. 

The  preparations  for  the  "  public  rejoicing  " 
were  not  quite  finished,  as  might  have  been 
expected ;  but  that  did  not  much  matter  where 
Belle  was  concerned,  for  she  was  so  much  with 


An  Excitement,  29 

the  little  Bradfords  that  they  looked  upon  her 
almost  as  one  of  their  own  family ;  and  she 
was  at  once  called  upon  by  Maggie  to  "  help 
with  the  arrangements/'  which  she  was  quite 
ready  to  do. 

"  Mamma  hasn't  had  time  to  buy  the  motr 
toes  yet,"  said  Maggie,  "  'cause  she  couldn't 
go  out  this  morning  ;  but  she  is  going  now  and 
says  we  are  to  go  with  her.  Don't  you  want 
to  come  too,  Belle  ?  " 

Belle  was  only  too  glad ;  and  as  soon  as 
Mrs.  Bradford  was  ready,  the  three  little  girls, 
Maggie,  Bessie,  and  Belle,  set  forth  with  her 
to  make  the  important  purchase. 

As  they  were  on  their  way  to  the  store, 
Maggie,  who  had  skipped  ahead  to  a  corner 
they  had  to  turn,  came  running  back  with 
face  all  aglow  and  eyes  full  of  excitement. 

"  Oh !  mamma  ! "  she  said :  "  there's  such 
a  fuss  round  the  corner,  and  I'm  afraid  we'll 
have  to  pass  it." 

"  What  is  the  trouble  ? "  asked  Mrs.  Brad- 
ford. 


30  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

"  1  don't  know  ;  but  there's  a  crowd,  and  I 
saw  a  carriage,  and  a  policeman  ;  and  there's 
such  a  fuss." 

"  Well,"  said  Bessie,  who  held  the  most 
unbounded  faith  in  policemen,  "if  there's  a 
policeman,  I  s'pose  he'll  fix  it  all  right :  won't 
he?" 

"  But  you  see  we'll  have  to  pass  it  to  reach 
the  candy-store,"  said  Maggie ;  "  and  maybe, 
it's  a  drunken  man,  or  a  carry-on  horse,  or  an 
animal  escaped  out  of  the  menagerie,  or  a 
mad  dog,  or  some  other  dreadful  excitement;" 
and  she  looked  quite  distressed  as  she  fin- 
ished the  list  of  horrors  she  had  imag- 
ined. 

"  I  think  I  can  take  care  of  you,"  said  her 
mother ;  "  and  if  there  should  be  any  danger 
we  will  stop  in  at  grandmamma's  till  it  is 
over." 

Thus  consoled,  but  still  clinging  tight  to 
her  mother's  hand,  Maggie  thought  they 
might  venture  to  go  on ;  but  as  soon  as  the 
corner  was  turned,  it  became  quite  plain  that 


An  Excitement.  31 

there  was  no  danger  for  them,  though  there 
was  indeed  what  she  called  "  a  fuss." 

In  the  middle  of  the  street  was  a  carriage 
about  which  a  crowd  had  gathered,  one  of  the 
horses  having  stumbled,  fallen,  and  broken  his 
leg.  On  the  sidewalk  stood  a  lady  in  deep 
mourning,  with  a  nurse,  and  a  child  about 
Bessie's  age,  the  latter  screaming  at  the  top 
of  her  voice,  and  dancing  up  and  down,  seem- 
ingly partly  in  fear,  partly  in  anger ;  for  she 
would  not  listen  to  her  mother  and  nurse 
when  they  tried  to  soothe  her,  but  struck  out 
her  hands  passionately  at  the  woman  when 
she  tried  to  draw  her  away  from  her  mother's 
side,  so  that  the  lady  might  find  opportunity 
to  speak  to  those  about  her. 

"  Oh  !  the  poor  little  girl !  just  see  how 
frightened  she  is,"  said  Bessie. 

"  I  am  afraid  she  is  a  little  naughty,  too," 
said  her  mother,  as  the  child  gave  another 
furious  scream  and  stamped  wildly  with  both 
her  feet  upon  the  pavement ;  while  the  lady, 
who  was  plainly  weak  and  nervous,  drew  her 


32  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

hand  across  her  forehead  as  if  the  uproar  her 
little  daughter  was  making  was  almost  too 
much  for  her. 

u  But  I  must  speak  to  the  lady  and  see  if 
I  can  do  any  thing  for  her,"  continued  Mrs. 
Bradford ;  and  stepping  up  to  her,  as  she  stood 
a  little  withdrawn  from  the  crowd,  she  said 
kindly,  "  Can  I  be  of  any  assistance  to  you  ?  " 

"No,  thank  you,"  said  the  lady :  "I  am 
not  ill,  only  startled ;  and  —  if  Mabel  would 
but  be  quiet  and  let  me  speak  and  think," 

Mabel  seemed  inclined  to  do  this  now  that 
she  had  caught  sight  of  the  other  children ; 
for  ceasing  her  loud  screams,  and  standing 
still,  she  stared  open-mouthed  at  them. 

"  My  house  is  but  a  few  steps  farther  on :  will 
you  not  come  in  and  rest,  and  compose  your- 
self ?"  asked  Mrs.  Bradford  of  the  stranger. 

"  No,  thank  you,"  she  answered  again  :  "  I 
believe  we  have  but  little  farther  to  go.  Is 
not  the Hotel  near  here  ? " 

"  Only  a  block  or  two,"  replied  Mrs.  Brad- 
ford. 


An  Excitement.  33 

"  Then  we  will  walk  on,"  said  the  lady ; 
and  directing  the  nurse  to  bring  some  shawls 
from  the  carriage,  she  thanked  Mrs.  Bradford 
for  her  kindness,  and  taking  the  hand  of  her 
little  girl  would  have  gone  on. 

But  this  did  not  please  the  child,  who  now 
drawing  sharply  back  from  her  mother,  said 
pettishly,  — 

"  No  :  I  want  to  go  to  that  lady's  house  and 
play  with  those  nice  little  girls." 

"  But  we're  not  going  home.  We  are  going 
to  the  candy-store  to  buy  some  mottoes,"  said 
Belle. 

When  Mabel  heard  this,  she  said  she  wanted 
to  go  to  the  candy-store  and  buy  mottoes  too ; 
and  her  mother,  who,  it  was  plainly  to  be  seen, 
gave  way  to  her  in  every  thing,  said  she  might 
do  so. 

"  But  if  I  go  and  buy  you  mottoes,  will  you 
be  a  good  girl,  and  come  with  me  to  find  your 
uncle  and  little  cousin  ? "  asked  the  stranger 
lady. 

Mabel  promised,  anxious  now  only  to  secure 


34  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

the  mottoes ;  and  she  and  her  mother  and 
nurse  followed  Mrs.  Bradford  and  our  little 
friends  to  the  candy-store. 

Mrs.  Bradford  politely  waited  and  let  the 
saleswoman  attend  to  the  stranger  first,  for 
she  saw  there  would  be  small  chance  of  peace 
till  the  spoiled  child  had  all  she  desired. 

All  she  desired  !  There  seemed  no  end  to 
that.  Not  only  Maggie  and  Bessie,  but  Belle 
also,  who  was  accustomed  to  the  most  un- 
bounded indulgence,  and  to  have  every  wish 
gratified,  stood  amazed  at  the  number  and 
quantity  of  dainties  which  Mabel  demanded, 
and  which  she  was  allowed  to  have.  Parcel 
after  parcel  was  put  up  for  her,  till  not  only 
her  own  hands  and  those  of  her  already  well- 
laden  nurse  were  filled  to  overflowing,  but 
those  of  her  mother  also. 

"  Now  do  come,  dear,"  said  the  latter,  when 
it  was  impossible  that  any  one  of  the  three 
could  carry  another  thing :  "  let  us  go  and  see 
the  little  cousin,  and  she  shall  share  them 
with  you." 


An  Excitement.  35 

u  No,  she  shan't,"  whined  Mabel :  "  I  don't 
want  little  cousin,  and  I  shan't  have  her 
now." 

"  Well,  never  mind,  then.  She  is  such  a 
nervous  child,"  said  her  mother,  turning  to 
Mrs.  Bradford.  "  She  shall  not  tease  you  if 
you  do  not  choose.  Come,  darling,  won't 
you,  with  poor  mamma  ?  " 

But  it  took  so  much  more  promising  and 
coaxing  before  the  unruly  child  could  be  per- 
suaded by  her  weary  but  foolish  mother  to  go 
on,  that  Mrs.  Bradford  made  her  purchases 
and  quitted  the  store  with  her  own  little  flock, 
leaving  Mabel  still  whining  and  fretting,  and 
at  the  last  moment  insisting  upon  having  a 
sugar  "  Temple  of  Liberty,"  which  the  shop- 
woman  told  her  was  not  for  sale,  but  only  put 
there  for  show. 

"That's  the  spoildest  child  I  ever  saw," 
said  Belle,  as  they  turned  homewards,  each 
little  girl  by  her  own  desire  laden  with  a 
parcel. 

"  Yes,"  said  Maggie  :  "  she's  just  the  kind 


36  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

of  a  child  to  cry  for  the  moon,  and  get  it  too, 
if  she  could ;  but  she  couldn't.  I'm  glad," 
she  added,  with  an  air  of  deep  wisdom,  "  that 
our  parents  saw  the  error  of  their  ways  and 
didn't  train  us  up  that  way.  What  are  you 
laughing  at,  mamma  ?  " 

But  mamma  made  no  answer ;  the  reason 
of  which  Maggie  took  to  be  that  just  at  that 
moment  she  bowed  to  a  gentleman  who  was 
passing ;  and  before  she  could  repeat  her  ques- 
tion Bessie  spoke. 

"  I'm  glad  enough  I'm  not  her  little  cousin 
she  is  going  to  see.    I'm  sorry  for  her  cousin." 

"  So  am  I,"  said  Belle.  "  I  wouldn't  have 
such  a  cousin  as  Mabel  for  any  thing.  She's 
too  horrid." 

"  You  have  a  cousin  named  Mabel,  though, 
haven't  you  ?  "  asked  Maggie. 

"  Yes,  so  I  have  ;  but  then  she's  not  one  bit 
like  that  Mabel,  you  know,"  answered  Belle. 

"  You  never  saw  her,  did  you  ? "  asked 
Bessie. 

"  No,  'cause  she  lives  about  a  million  thou- 


An  Excitement.  37 

sand  of  miles  off,  way  off  in  Boston  ;  but  she 
is  coming  to  see  me  some  time,"  said  Belle. 

"  But  if  you  never  saw  her,  how  can  you 
tell  she  is  not  one  bit  like  that  child  ? "  asked 
Bessie. 

"Why  how  could  she  be*?"  demanded 
Belle,  indignantly:  "  her  mamma  is  my  papa's 
own  sister,  and  he'd  never  have  such  a  fool- 
ish lady  as  that  for  his  sister.  I  guess  he 
wouldn't;"  and  Belle  shook  her  head  in  a 
manner  which  seemed  to  say  that  such  an 
idea  was  to  be  put  out  of  the  question  at 
once. 

"  Yes :  you  know  '  birds  of  a  feather  flock 
together,' "  said  Maggie. 

"  What  does  that  mean  ?  "  asked  Bessie. 

u  Why,"  answered  Maggie,  slowly,  as  she 
considered  how  she  might  make  one  of  her 
favorite  proverbs  fit  the  occasion,  "  it  means 
—  well  —  it  means  —  that  a  foolish  mother  is 
apt  to  have  a  foolish  child,  and  things  of  that 
kind.     Do  you  understand,  Bessie  ? " 

"  Oh,  yes ! "   said   Bessie,  looking  at  her 


38  Belle  Powers*  Locket, 

sister  with  admiring  pride:  "you  always 
make  every  thing  plain  to  understand,  Mag- 
gie.    Don't  she,  Belle  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Belle :  "  she's  an  excellent  ex- 
plainer. And,  Maggie,  do  you  know  I  told 
papa  what  nice  things  you  said  about  being 
sunbeams,  and  told  him  those  verses  you 
made ;  and,  oh !  didn't  he  think  it  was 
splendid  T" 

"  I  don't  believe  Mabel  is  much  of  a  sun- 
beam to  her  people,"  said  Bessie.  "  I'm  'fraid 
her  mother  don't  teach  her  to  be." 

"  No,  indeed,  I  guess  she  isn't! "  said  Belle ; 
"  and  I  wouldn't  want  to  be  a  sunbeam  to 
her." 

"  But  our  Father  in  Heaven  makes  His  sun 
to  shine  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,"  said 
Mrs.  Bradford,  softly.  "  Does  not  my  little 
Belle  want  to  copy  Him  ? " 

Just  the  words  her  father  had  used  yester- 
day when  she  was  talking  with  him  on  this 
very  subject.  They  set  Belle  thinking;  and 
she  walked  more  quietly  on  towards  the  house, 


An  Excitement,  39 

trying  to  make  up  her  mind  if  she  could  "  be 
a  sunbeam "  to  such  a  disagreeable  child  as 
the  one  she  had  just  seen. 

She  had  not  quite  decided  when  they  reached 
Mrs.  Bradford's  door,  and  there  for  the  time 
her  thoughts  were  taken  up  with  her  play  and 
playmates. 

But  Mrs.  Bradford  was  rather  amused  when, 
one  of  the  dolls  being  supposed  to  have  be- 
haved badly,  Belle  was  overheard  to  say,  — 

"  This  child  must  be  punished  severely,  she 
is  so  very  nervous." 


m. 


AN  UNPLEASANT  SURPRISE. 


HE  "  public  rejoicing  "  had  not  nearly 
come  to  an  end,  when,  at  a  much 
earlier  hour  than  she  was  accustomed 
to  go  home,  Belle  saw  Daphne  entering  the 
play-room.  Daphne's  turbaned  head  was 
thrown  back,  and  her  lips  pursed  up  in  a 
manner  which  showed  Belle  that  she  was  not 
pleased  with  something  or  some  one.  But 
whatever  might  be  the  cause  of  the  old  nurse's 
displeasure,  Belle  knew  well  enough  that  it 
would  never  be  visited  on  her ;  and  Daphne's 
appearance  just  at  the  moment  when  she  was 
so  delightfully  engaged  did  not  suit  her  at 
all. 


An   Unpleasant  Surprise.  41 

"  You  haven't  come  to  take  me  home 
a' ready  ?  "    she  said. 

"  But  I  has,  honey :  more's  de  shame/' 
said  Daphne,  with  a  look  of  mingled  pity  and 
affection  at  her  little  mistress,  while  a  chorus 
of  exclamations  arose  from  all  the  children. 

"  I  shan't  go,  now !  It's  too  early,"  said 
Belle.  "  Why,  it  isn't  near  dark,  Daphne. 
Did  papa  send  you  ?  " 

"  S'pose  he  tinks  he  did,"  replied  Daphne ; 
"  but  I  specs  dere's  a  new  missis  come  to 
han',  what  tinks  she's  goin'  to  turn  de  worP 
upside  down.     'Pears  like  it." 

"  What  ?  "  said  Belle,  not  understanding 
such  mysterious  hints,  yet  seeing  something 
was  wrong  ;  and  Mrs.  Bradford  asked, "  What 
are  you  talking  about,  Daphne  ?  " 

"  I'se  been  bidden  to  hoP  my  tongue,  and 
I  neber  talks  if  I  ain't  got  leave,"  answered 
Daphne,  with  another  toss  of  her  turban  and 
several  displeased  sniffs. 

"  But  you're  talking  now,  only  we  don't 
know  what  it's  about,"  said  Bessie. 


42  Belle  Power?  Locket, 

To  this  Daphne  made  no  answer,  except  by 
closing  her  eyes  in  a  resigned  manner,  and 
giving  a  sigh  which  seemed  to  come  from  her 
very  shoes. 

"  I  shan't  go  home,  anyhow,"  said  Belle : 
"  the  party  isn't  near  out." 

"  Not  when  papa  wants  you,  dear  ?  "  said 
Mrs.  Bradford,  gently. 

Belle  gave  a  sigh  which  sounded  like  the 
echo  of  Daphne's ;  but  she  made  no  farther 
objection  when  her  nurse  brought  her  hat  and 
prepared  to  put  it  on.  Daphne  clapped  on 
the  hat,  giving  a  snap  to  the  elastic  which 
fastened  it  that  really  hurt  the  child,  though 
she  was  far  from  intending  to  do  so.  Then 
she  seized  her  in  both  arms  and  gave  her  a 
loud,  sounding  kiss. 

"  You  just  'member  you  alius  got  yer  ole 
mammy,  whatever  else  you  loses,  my  honey," 
she  said.  By  this  time  not  only  little  Belle 
and  the  other  children,  but  Mrs.  Bradford  also, 
thought  something  dreadful  must  have  hap- 
pened ;    although   the   latter   did  know  that 


An   Unpleasant  Surprise.  43 

Daphne  was  sometimes  foolish,  and  very  apt 
to  make  a  mountain  out  of  a  molehill. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  Where's  my  papa  ?  " 
said  Belle,  in  a  frightened  tone.  "  Is  he 
lost?" 

"  He's  safe  to  de  hotel,  dear,"  said  Daphne. 
She  never  condescended  to  say  home : 
"  home "  was  far  away,  down  on  the  dear 
old  Georgia  plantation.  "  He's  safe  to  de 
hotel;  that  is,  if  somebody  ain't  worrit  de 
eyes  out  his  head  or  de  head  off  his  shoulders. 
You  come  along,  Miss  Belle,  'fore  all  yer 
tings  is  gone  to  rack  an'  ruin." 

"  What  is  the  matter,  Daphne  ?  "  said  Mrs. 
Bradford. 

"  I  telled  yer,  missis,  I  ain't  got  leave  for 
talk ;  an'  I  neber  breaks  orders,  no  way.  But 
I'se  been  forgetten:  dere's  a  letter  what  Massa 
Powers  send  you  ;  "  and  diving  into  the 
depths  of  her  enormous  pocket,  Daphne  pro- 
duced a  note  which  she  handed  to  Mrs.  Brad- 
ford. The  lady  opened  and  read  it ;  while 
Belle  watched  her,  fearing  some   evil.     But 


44  Belle  Powers^  Locket. 

Mrs.  Bradford  smiled  and  looked  rather 
pleased,  and  said  to  Belle, — 

"  It  is  all  right,  darling :  run  home  now ; 
papa  has  a  great  pleasure  for  you." 

It  would  be  impossible  to  express  the  length 
and  depth  of  the  sniff  with  which  Daphne 
heard  this ;  but  Belle  did  not  notice  it,  and 
was  now  rather  in  haste  to  say  good-by  and 
to  go  to  her  papa. 

"  I  wouldn't  say  any  thing  more  if  I  were 
you,  Daphne/'  said  Mrs.  Bradford,  following 
them  out  to  the  head  of  the  stairs. 

"  Dear !  I  ain't  said  nothin',  Missis,"  said 
Daphne :  "  didn't  her  pa  forbid  it  ?  on'y  some 
folks  is  so  blin'." 

"  Who's  blind  ?     Not  papa  ?  "  said  Belle. 

"It  am  a  kin'  of  sperit  blin'ness  I'se  speak- 
in'  ob,  honey,"  said  Daphne.  "  Talk  ob 
spilin'  chillen,  indeed !  Dere's  some  what's 
so  bad  by  natur',  you  couldn't  make  'em  no 
wuss  if  you  tried  all  de  days  ob  yer  life." 

With  which  she  disappeared,  banging  the 
front  door  after  Belle  and  herself  with  a  force 


An   Unpleasant  Surprise.  45 

which  told  that  she  was  anxious  for  some 
object  on  which  she  might  safely  vent  her  dis- 
pleasure. 

Belle  talked  and  questioned  all  the  way 
home,  but  received  for  answer  only  the  same 
mysterious  and  alarming  hints ;  till  the  child 
hardly  knew  whether  to  believe  that  some- 
thing dreadful  had  taken  place,  or  that  she 
was  going  home  to  the  promised  pleasure. 

"  Now,  Miss  Belle,"  said  the  foolish  old 
woman,  as  they  crossed  the  hall  on  which  Mr. 
Powers'  rooms  opened,  "  you  min'  I  ain't  goin* 
for  let  you  be  snubbed  and  kep'  under.  You 
come  and  tell  yer  ole  mammy  ebery  ting ; 
an'  I'll  fight  yer  battles,  if  de  French  nusses 
is  got  sich  fly-a-way  caps  on  der  heads." 

So  she  opened  the  door  of  their  own  parlor ; 
and  Belle,  feeling  a  little  worried  and  a  little 
cross  at  the  interruption  to  her  afternoon's 
pleasure,  passed  in. 

What  did  she  see  ? 

Upon  the  sofa,  beside  her  papa,  sat  a  lady 
dressed  in  deep  mourning ;  and  upon  his  knee 


46  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

—  was  it  possible  ?  —  yes,  upon  papa's  knee, 
in  her  own  proper  place,  was  a  little  girl,  quite 
at  her  ease,  and  sitting  as  if  she  had  a  right 
and  belonged  there.  And  —  could  it  be?  — 
Belle  took  a  second  look  —  it  really  was  the 
child  who  had  been  so  naughty  and  shown 
herself  so  spoiled.  She  stood  for  a  moment 
near  the  door,  utterly  amazed,  and  speechless 
with  displeasure. 

Now  Belle  was  what  is  called  a  generous 
child  ;  that  is,  she  would  readily  give  away 
or  share  what  she  had  with  others ;  but  she 
was  jealous  of  the  affection  of  those  she  loved, 
especially  of  her  papa's.  He  was  her  own, 
her  very  own :  all  his  tenderness  and  petting 
must  be  for  her.  She  could  hardly  bear  that 
he  should  caress  even  her  beloved  Maggie  and 
Bessie ;  and  if  it  chanced  that  he  did  so,  she 
would  immediately  claim  a  double  portion  for 
herself.  She  was  quick  and  bright  too ;  and 
now  she  saw  in  a  moment  the  cause  of  all 
Daphne's  mysterious  hints  and  melancholy ; 
and  the/  helped  to  increase  the  angry,  jealous 


An   Unpleasant  Surprise.  47 

feeling  in  her  own  heart.  Daphne  had  feared 
that  this  naughty,  contrary  child  was  coming 
to  interfere  with  her  ;  and  Belle  feared  it  now 
herself.  Indeed,  was  it  not  plain  enough 
already  ?  There  she  was  on  papa's  knee,  the 
seat  to  which  no  one  but  herself  had  a  right ; 
and  papa's  arm  was  about  her. 

44  Come  here,  my  darling :  come  and  speak 
to  your  aunt  and  little  cousin,"  said  Mr. 
Powers. 

And  now  Belle  spoke,  indeed,  but  without 
moving  one  step  forward,  and  with  a  very 
different  tone  and  manner  from  those  which 
her  father  expected. 

"  Come  off  of  there ! "  she  said,  in  a  low, 
deep  tone  of  intense  passion.  "  Come  off  of 
there !  That's  my  place,  he's  my  papa ;  you 
shan't  have  him,  and  I  shan't  have  you. 
You're  not  my  cousin  ;  I  won't  have  you,  bad, 
bad  girl ! " 

She  said  this  with  her  face  perfectly  white 
with  rage,  her  eyes  flashing;  and  she  stood 
bolt  upright,  her  two  little  hands  clenched  and 


48  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

stretched  downwards  on  either  side.  Then 
the  color  came  fast  and  deep,  rising  to  the 
very  roots  of  her  hair ;  her  lips  were  drawn, 
and  her  little  bosom  heaved. 

Mr.  Powers  knew  what  this  meant.  Pat- 
ting Mabel  hastily  from  his  knee,  he  rose  and 
walked  over  to  Belle.  When  Belle  was  a 
baby,  and  little  more  than  a  baby,  she  had  the 
naughty  habit,  when  any  thing  displeased  her, 
of  holding  her  breath  until  she  was  almost 
choked  and  purple  in  the  face.  Other  chil- 
dren have  this  ugly  way,  which  is  not  only 
naughty,  but  dangerous.  But  Belle's  mamma 
had  broken  her  of  this  when  she  was  very 
young  ;  and  it  was  a  long,  long  time  since  her 
father  had  seen  her  do  it. 

But  it  was  coming  now,  and  must  be  stopped 
at  once. 

"  Belle  !  "  he  said  sharply,  and  almost  stern- 
ly, laying  his  hand  on  her  shoulder,  — 
"  Belle !  " 

It  did  seem  hard,  but  it  was  necessary,  and 
was,  Mr.  Powers  knew,  the  only  way  to  bring 


An   Unpleasant  Surprise.  49 

his  angry  little  child  to  her  senses.  It  was 
enough.  She  caught  her  breath  hard,  then 
gave  one  or  two  deep  sobs,  and  burst  into  a 
passion  of  tears,  at  the  same  time  turning  and 
trying  to  run  away. 

Poor  child !  It  seemed  to  her  that  this 
was  proof  of  her  jealous  fears.  Papa  had 
never  spoken  so  to  her  before,  and  it  was  all 
because  of  that  strange  child  who  was  coming 
in  her  place.  So  she  thought,  and  only 
wanted  to  run  away  out  of  sight  and  hear- 
ing. 

But  her  father  caught  her,  took  her  up  in 
his  arms,  and  now  spoke  to  her  in  the  ten- 
derest  tones,  covering  her  wet  face  with  kisses 
and  trying  to  soothe  her. 

Belle  knew  that  she  had  been  naughty,  oh ! 
very  naughty ;  but  she  still  felt  very  much 
injured ;  and,  although  after  a  time  her  sobs 
became  less  violent,  she  clung  tightly  to  her 
papa,  and  kept  her  face  hidden  on  his  bosom ; 
shedding  there  the  tears  which  brought  no 
healing  with  them  because  they  came  from 


50  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

anger  and  jealousy,  and  obstinately  refusing 
to  look  up  or  speak  to  her  aunt  and  cousin. 

And  yet  if  Belle  had  been  told  but  yester- 
day that  she  was  soon  to  see  this  little  cousin, 
she  would  have  been  delighted.  They  had 
never  met  before,  for  Mrs.  Walton,  Mabel's 
mother,  had  been  living  abroad  for  many 
years :  the  little  Mabel  had  been  born  there, 
and  there  several  brothers  and  sisters  had 
died.  Perhaps  this  last  was  one  reason, 
though  it  was  certainly  no  good  excuse,  that 
Mabel  had  been  so  much  indulged. 

For  some  months  there  had  been  talk  of 
their  coming  home,  but  their  appearance  just 
at  this  time  was  quite  unexpected.  Young 
readers  will  not  be  interested  in  knowing  what 
brought  them :  it  is  enough  to  say  that  here 
they  were,  the  steamer  having  brought  them 
to  Boston,  whence  Mr.  Walton  had  sent  on  his 
wife  and  child,  he  staying  behind  to  attend  to 
some  business. 

Mrs.  Walton  had  thought  to  give  her  brother 
an  agreeable  surprise  ;  and  so  she  had,  for  he 


An  Unpleasant  Surprise,  51 

had  been  longing  to  see  her,  and  to  have  her 
help  in  the  training  of  his  motherless  little 
Belle ;  but  Mrs.  Walton  and  Mabel  had  not 
been  with  him  half  an  hour  before  he  began  to 
think  that  Belle  would  do  quite  as  well  without 
the  training  which  Mabel  received. 

The  child  had  been  clamorous  to  see  her 
young  cousin  from  the  first  moment  of  her 
arrival ;  but  Daphne,  unwilling  to  call  her 
darling  from  her  afternoon's  pleasure,  had 
invented  one  excuse  after  another,  till  Mr. 
Powers  had  insisted  that  she  should  bring 
Belle. 

The  jealousy  of  the  old  colored  nurse,  who 
was  already  put  out  at  Mabel's  wilful,  pettish 
behavior,  and  the  way  in  which  she  was 
allowed  to  handle  and  pull  about  all  Belle's 
toys  and  treasures,  was  immediately  aroused 
at  the  idea  that  her  nursling  should  be  made  to 
yield  to  the  new-comer ;  and  she  had  shown 
this  in  the  manner  which  had  awakened 
a  like  feeling  in  Belle  the  moment  the  child 
discovered  the  cause. 


52  Belle  Powers^  Locket. 

Mrs.  Walton  was  vexed,  as  indeed  she 
might  well  be,  at  the  reception  which  Belle 
had  given  to  herself  and  Mabel ;  but  the  weak 
and  foolish  mother  readily  excused  or  over- 
looked in  her  own  child  those  very  faults 
which  she  saw  so  plainly  in  her  little  niece. 

At  first  Mabel  had  been  too  much  astonished 
at  Belle's  outbreak  to  do  more  than  stand  and 
look  at  her ;  but  when  her  cousin's  cries  were 
quieted,  and  she  lay  still  with  her  face  hidden 
on  he?  father's  shoulder,  giving  long,  heaving 
sobs,  she  began  to  whine  and  fret,  and  to  in- 
sist that  Belle  should  be  made  to  come  and 
play  with  her,  and  show  her  a  set  of  carved 
animals,  one  of  Belle's  choicest  treasures  which 
Mr.  Powers  had  rescued  from  her  destructive 
little  fingers. 

"  My  dear  brother,"  said  Mrs.  Walton,  "  it 
is  indeed  time  that  your  child  was  put  under 
other  female  management  than  that  of  ser- 
vants.    She  is  quite  spoiled,  I  see." 

Here  a  prolonged  sniff,  ending  in  something 
very  like  a  groan,  came  from  near  the  door 


An  Unpleasant  Surprise.  53 

where  Daphne  still  stood :  while  Belle,  feeling 
that  both  she  and  her  devoted  nurse  had  been 
insulted,  kicked  out  indignantly  with  her  little 
feet. 

But  her  father's  hand  was  on  the  nestling 
head  ;  and  he  said  very  quietly,  pouring  oil  on 
the  wounded  spirits,  — 

"  My  Belle  and  her  Daphne  could  not  well 
do  without  one  another;  and  Belle  is  much 
less  spoiled  than  she  used  to  be.  She  is  a 
pretty  good  girl  now,  thanks  to  the  kind  teach- 
ings she  has  had,  and  her  own  wish  to  profit 
by  them.  Mrs.  Bradford,  the  mother  of  her 
little  friends  Maggie  and  Bessie,  has  been  very 
good  to  her ;  so  has  her  teacher,  Miss  Ashton, 
and  several  other  lady  friends :  so  that  she 
has  not  been  left  lately  without  proper  train- 
ing, even  if  her  papa  and  old  nurse  do  indulge 
and  pet  her  perhaps  a  little  too  much.  Belle 
and  I  are  all  in  all  to  one  another  now,  and 
she  knows  I  want  her  to  be  a  good  girl.  It  is 
a  long,  long  time  since  she  has  had  such  a 
naughty  turn  as  this,  and  I  know  she  is  sorry 
and  ashamed." 


54  Belle  Powers*  Locket. 

Ashamed  Belle  certainly  was ;  but  I  am 
afraid  she  was  not  sorry,  at  least  not  truly 
sorry,  for  she  was  quite  determined  not  to 
look  up  or  speak  to  her  aunt  and  cousin ;  and 
she  nursed  the  angry  feelings  in  her  little 
heart,  and  made  up  her  mind  that  they  were 
both  quite  unbearable. 

She  was  the  more  sure  of  this  when  they 
all  went  together  into  the  dining-room.  Belle 
was  accustomed  to  go  there  with  her  father, 
and  to  eat  her  simple  supper  while  he  dined  ; 
and  indulged  though  she  was,  she  never  thought 
of  fretting  or  asking  for  that  which  he  said 
was  not  proper  for  her ;  but  Mabel  called  for 
every  thing  that  she  fancied,  and  was  allowed 
to  have  all  manner  of  rich  dainties,  her  mother 
answering  when  Mr.  Powers  interfered,  — 

"  It  don't  do  to  refuse  her  any  thing.  She  is 
so  nervous  and  excitable.  I  have  to  manage 
her  the  best  way  I  can." 

Probably  Mr.  Powers  thought  the  manage- 
ment which  fell  to  the  share  of  his  mother- 
less little  Belle  was  better  and  more  profitable 


An  Unpleasant  Surprise.  55 

than  that  bestowed  upon  Mabel,  whose  mother 
was  always  with  her. 

It  was  the  same  thing  when  they  went 
upstairs  again.  Mabel  wanted  to  stand  in  the 
gallery  above,  and  look  down  into  the  great 
hall  below,  where  were  lights,  and  numbers 
of  people  coming  and  going  ;  and  all  the  plead- 
ings and  promises  of  her  tired  mother  could 
not  persuade  her  to  go  on  to  their  room, 
where  the  nurse  was  engaged  unpacking. 

But  her  uncle,  who  was  tired  of  all  this  wil- 
fulness, soon  put  a  stop  to  it,  by  unclasping 
the  little  hands  which  held  so  obstinately  to 
the  banisters,  lifting  and  carrying  her  to  her 
mamma's  room,  where  he  set  her  down  with- 
out a  word. 

Mabel  was  so  unused  to  such  firm  interfer- 
ence with  her  wishes,  and  was  so  astonished  at 
it,  that  she  quite  forgot  to  scream  or  struggle 
till  he  had  gone  away  and  the  door  was  shut 
upon  her.  Then  she  made  up  for  lost  time ; 
but  we  will  leave  her  and  go  with  Belle. 

Her  father  saw  that  she  was  in  no  mood  for 


56  Belle  Powers^  Locket. 

advice  or  reproof  ;  just  now  either  would  only 
add  to  her  sudden  and  violent  jealousy  of  her 
cousin :  so  he  determined  to  pass  over  her 
naughtiness  for  to-night,  and  hoped  that  she 
would  be  more  reasonable  in  the  morning. 
She  herself  said  not  a  single  word  about  what 
had  passed,  or  about  her  aunt  and  cousin,  —  at 
least  not  to  her  papa  ;  but  when  Daphne  was 
putting  her  to  bed,  both  the  little  one  and  the 
old  woman  found  enough  to  say  to  one  another ; 
Belle  telling  her  nurse  how  she  had  met 
Mabel  that  day  and  how  the  latter  had  be 
haved ;  while  Daphne  encouraged  her  to  say 
as  many  unkind  things  as  she  would,  and 
made  the  most  of  all  Mabel's  spoiled,  trouble- 
some ways. 

Poor  little  Belle !  She  could  hardly  say 
her  prayers  that  night,  and  went  to  bed  feel- 
ing more  unhappy  than  she  had  done  for  many 
a  long  day. 


IV. 

SUNLIGHT. 

IHINGS  were  no  better  the  next  morn- 
ing. 

Mrs.  Walton  did  not  come  down 
to  breakfast,  but  Mabel  chose  to  go  with  her 
uncle  and  cousin.  She  was  in  a  better  humor 
than  she  had  been  the  night  before,  and  would 
willingly  have  made  friends  with  Belle  if  the 
latter  would  have  allowed  her  to  do  so.  She 
was  less  unruly  and  wilful  at  the  table  also ; 
for  after  the  way  in  which  her  uncle  had  com- 
pelled her  to  obey  last  night,  she  was  a  little 
afraid  of  him,  and  had  an  idea  that  he  would 
not  allow  her  to  have  her  own  way  in  the 
manner  her  papa  and  mamma  did.     She  did 


58  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

not  like  him  the  less  for  that  though,  and  when 
she  asked  for  one  or  two  things  which  he  did 
not  think  proper  for  her,  submitted  quietly 
to  his  refusal,  and  took  what  he  offered  in- 
stead. As  for  Belle,  she  not  only  would  not 
speak  to  her  cousin  beyond  the  unwilling 
"  good-morning "  which  she  uttered  by  her 
father's  orders,  but  she  would  not  appear  to 
be  conscious  of  her  presence  at  all ;  never 
lifting  her  eyes  to  her,  and  if  she  was  forced 
to  turn  her  face  that  way,  making  a  pretence 
of  looking  over  Mabel's  head  or  beyond  her. 
And  when  they  returned  to  their  own  parlor, 
where  Mrs.  Walton  now  sat,  Belle  gathered 
every  toy,  book,  or  other  trifle  that  belonged  to 
her,  put  them  in  a  closet  given  for  her  use, 
and  with  some  difficulty  turned  the  key  and 
took  it  out;  then  planted  herself  with  her 
back  against  the  door,  as  if  she  thought  the 
lock  not  enough  to  keep  Mabel's  hands  from 
her  treasures,  standing  there  with  a  look  of 
the  most  determined  obstinacy  and  sullen- 
ness. 


Sunlight,  59 

Such  behavior  was  not  at  all  like  Belle,  and 
her  papa  scarcely  knew  what  to  make  of  it. 
Even  in  her  most  wilful  days  she  had  never 
shown  herself  selfish  or  sulky ;  and  knowing 
that  she  now  felt  herself  aggrieved  and  injured 
by  Mabel's  presence,  and  fearing  to  excite  fresh 
jealousy,  he  did  not  know  how  to  deal  with 
her. 

As  for  the  little  girl  herself,  —  no  matter 
how  much  of  all  this  had  been  caused  by  old 
Daphne,  —  Belle  knew  well  that  she  was  very 
naughty  ;  but  she  determined  to  persist  in  that 
naughtiness  so  long  as  Mabel  should  be  there. 

To  describe  Daphne's  high-mightiness,  not 
only  with  Mabel  and  the  French  nurse,  but 
also  with  Mrs.  Walton,  would  be  impossible. 
She  carried  her  turban  so  straight,  and  moved 
and  spoke  so  stiffly,  that  she  almost  awed 
even  her  little  mistress ;  and  Mabel  was  quite 
afraid  of  her.  Nor  would  she  give  any  help 
or  information  to  the  French  woman,  pretend- 
ing not  to  understand  her  English,  which, 
although  broken,  was  plain  enough. 


60  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

"  'Dere  ain't  no  use  yer  talkin'  to  me,"  she 
said.  "  I  don't  unnerstan'  yer,  nor  I  ain't  goin* 
to.  I'se  alius  been  fetched  up  'mong  de  Pey« 
tons,  —  Miss  Belle's  mamma  she  was  a  Pey- 
ton, —  an'  I'se  used  to  fust-rate  English ;  an' 
me  an'  Miss  Belle  we  alius  uses  it,  and  neber 
can  unnerstan'  no  low  talk.  'Sides,  I'm  deaf 
as  a  post  dis  mornin'  and  can't  hear  no  way." 

Daphne  was  troubled  with  a  convenient 
kind  of  deafness,  which  always  came  on  when 
she  did  not  wish  to  hear  a  thing. 

So  Mr.  Powers,  knowing  that  both  Belle  and 
Daphne  must  be  brought  to  their  senses  and 
to  better  behavior,  but  not  seeing  exactly  the 
way  to  do  it  without  making  matters  worse, 
betook  himself  to  his  good  friend  Mrs.  Brad- 
ford to  ask  advice. 

"  What  am  I  to  do  ? "  he  said  when  he 
had  finished  his  story  :  "  if  I  punish  Belle  or 
reprove  Daphne,  they  are  in  such  a  state  of 
mind  that  it  will  give  fresh  food  for  jealousy 
and  bad  feeling  to  both ;  and  yet  I  cannot  let 
this  go  on." 


Sunlight,  61 

"  Certainly  not,"  said  Mrs.  Bradford  ;  "  but 
before  we  try  punishment  or  reproof,  let  us 
see  what  a  little  management  and  kindness 
will  do.  Suppose  you  send  Belle,  and,  if  Mrs. 
Walton  will  allow  it,  Mabel  with  her,  to  spend 
the  day  with  my  children." 

"  My  sister  will  allow  any  thing  the  child 
fancies,  I  fear,"  the  gentleman  answered  with 
a  sigh  ;  "  but  you  do  not  know  what  you  are 
undertaking.  A  more  ungovernable  and  un- 
governed  child  than  my  little  niece  would  be 
hard  to  find ;  and  I  fear  that  neither  you  nor 
your  children  would  pass  a  pleasant  day  with 
Belle  and  Mabel  here,  especially  if  Belle  con- 
tinues in  her  present  mood." 

"  I  do  not  fear  that  she  will,"  said  Mrs. 
Bradford.  "  Maggie  and  Bessie  being  of  her 
own  age,  and  having  a  great  sympathy  for  her, 
may  be  able  to  do  more  in  their  simple  way 
to  charm  the  evil  spirit  than  we  older  people 
can.  As  for  Mabel,  if  she  will  come,  she 
will  be  under  some  restraint  here,  as  we  are 
all  strangers  to  her." 


62  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

"Ah!  you  do  not  know  her,"  said  Mr. 
Powers.  "  I  was  a  stranger  to  her  until  yes- 
terday, and  yet"-— his  look  and  the  shrug  of 
his  shoulders  spoke  as  strongly  as  the  unfin- 
ished sentence  could  have  done. 

"  Never  mind :  send  her,"  said  the  lady. 
"  I  will  not  let  her  annoy  the  other  children 
or  me  too  much,  and  I  may  do  her  some 
good." 

"Yes,"  said  he,  gratefully  :  "  I  know  that 
you  and  yours  never  shrink  from  doing  good 
to  others  because  the  task  may  not  be  an 
agreeable  one.  But  do  you  mean  to  keep  a 
house  of  correction,  or,  I  should  say,  of  good 
influences,  for  all  incorrigibly  spoiled  chil- 
dren ?  " 

"  Not  exactly,"  said  Mrs.  Bradford,  return- 
ing his  smile ;  "  and  I  believe  I  have  our  little 
Belle  more  than  Mabel  in  my  mind  just  now ; 
but  let  them  both  come,  and  we  will  see  if  we 
cannot  send  them  back  to  you  this  evening  in 
better  and  happier  moods." 

Repeating  his  thanks,  Mr.  Powers  bade  her 


Sunlight.  63 

good-by  and  went  home  ;  where  he  found  that 
Belle  had  quitted  her  stand  at  the  closet-door, 
Mabel  having  gone  out.  For  when  the  latter 
found  that  she  was  not  to  be  allowed  to  have 
her  cousin's  toys,  she  raised  such  an  uproar  as 
soon  as  her  uncle  was  out  of  the  way,  that  her 
mother  promised  her  every  thing  and  any 
thing  she  chose,  and  had  sent  her  out  with  the 
maid  to  purchase  all  manner  of  playthings. 

Belle  was  glad  to  hear  that  she  was  to  go 
to  the  Bradfords' ;  and  even  when  she  learned 
that  Mabel  was  to  accompany  her,  she  still 
felt  a  satisfaction  in  it,  because  she  was  sure 
that  the  children  would  sympathize  with  her, 
and  be  as  "  offended  "  with  Mabel  as  she  was 
herself.  She  was  wild  to  go  at  once,  without 
waiting  for  her  cousin ;  and  her  papa  con- 
sented that  she  should  do  so,  hoping  that  Mrs. 
Bradford  and  the  children  would  bring  her  to 
a  better  state  of  feeling  before  Mabel  made 
her  appearance. 

Somewhat  to  Belle's  surprise  she  found 
Bessie   rather  more   ready  than   Maggie    to 


64  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

resent  her  supposed  injuries.  Bessie  did  not, 
it  is  true,  encourage  her  in  her  naughty  feel- 
ings, or  in  returning  evil  for  evil ;  but  she 
had  been  so  shocked  by  Mabel's  behavior  on 
the  day  before,  that  she  could  not  wonder  at 
Belle's  dislike.  Moreover,  Bessie  was  a  little 
inclined  to  jealousy  herself;  and  although  she 
struggled  hard  with  this  feeling,  and  showed 
it  but  seldom,  she  was  now  ready  to  excuse 
it,  and  find  just  cause  for  it,  in  Belle. 

But  Maggie  was  disposed  to  look  at  things 
in  a  more  reasonable  light,  and  to  make  the 
best  of  them. 

"  Why,  Belle,"  she  said,  cheerily, "  I  should 
think  you'd  be  glad,  'cause  now  you  can  be  a 
sunbeam  to  your  cousin,  and  try  to  do  her 
gool." 

"  I  guess  I  shan't  be  a  sunbeam  to  her," 
said  Belle.  "  I'd  be  nothing  but  an  ugly,  old 
black  cloud,  what  blows  a  great  deal  and  has 
thunder  and  lightning  out  of  it ;  and  it's  just 
good  enough  for  her." 

And  at  that  moment,  indeed,  little   Belle 


Sunlight,  65 

looked  much  more  like  a  thunder-cloud  than 
like  a  sunbeam. 

"  I  just  can't  bear  her.  I  b'lieve  I  just  hate 
her,  and  I'm  going  to  do  it  too,"  she  con- 
tinued. 

"  But  that  is  naughty,"  said  Bessie. 

"  I  don't  care  :  it  is  truf,"  said  Belle.  "  I 
can  say  the  truf,  can't  I  ?  " 

"  Well,  yes,"  answered  Bessie,  u  when  it's 
the  good  truth  ;  but  if  it's  a  naughty  truth,  it's 
better  to  keep  it  in." 

"  What  did  Mabel  do  to  you  to  make  you 
so  mad  ?  "  asked  Maggie. 

"  Why,  she  —  she  "  —  and  Belle  hesitated  a 
little,  rather  ashamed  of  herself  now,  as  she 
found  how  small  cause  of  complaint  she  really 
had  —  "why,  she  took  my  things  when  I 
didn't  say  she  might.  She  wanted  my  carved 
animals  too,  what  Uncle  Ruthven  gave  me ; 
but  papa  didn't  let  her  have  them,  and  I 
wouldn't  either.  I  put  them  away,  and 
wouldn't  let  her  look  at  them,  —  no,  not  one 
tiny  little  peek." 


56  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

"  But,  Belle,  dear,  you  don't  be  selfish  with 
your  things  gen'ally,"  said  Bessie.  "  Why 
won't  you  even  let  Mabel  see  them  ?  " 

"  'Cause  she's  too  spoiled ; "  said  Belle  ; 
"  and  I  b'lieve  she'd  just  go  and  break  them 
all  up.  I  don't  know  she  would,  but  I  b'lieve 
she  would." 

"  But  we  oughtn't  to  b'lieve  bad  things 
about  people  if  we  don't  know  'em,"  persisted 
Bessie. 

" 1  shan't  let  her  have  my  things,  anyhow, ' 
replied  Belle  ;  "  and  I'm  going  to  try  and  nave 
her  put  out  of  the  country  too." 

"  How  can  you  ?  "  said  Maggie.  "  They  nave 
a  right  to  stay  here  if  they  want  to." 

"  I'll  coax  papa  to  write  a  letter  to  sae 
President  and  ask  him  to  turn  out  Mabei  aiid 
her  mamma,"  said  Belle ;  "  and  I'm  going  to 
be  very  excitable  and  nervous,  so  he'll  do  any 
thing  I  want  him  to." 

Maggie  had  her  doubts  as  to  the  President's 
power  in  such  a  matter  ;  but  she  did  not  make 
rhem  known,  thinking  it  better   to   try  and 


Sunlight.  67 

soothe  Belle's  angry  feelings,  like  the  wise 
little  peacemaker  that  she  was. 

"  But  I  think  that  we  ought  to  be  sorry  for 
your  aunt  and  Mabel,  and  to  have  very  ex- 
cusable feelings  towards  them,"  she  said. 
"  You  know  they  have  not  had  so  many  ad- 
vantages as  we  have,  because  they  have  lived 
abroad  for  a  good  many  years ;  and  probably 
they  have  been  corrupted  by  the  fashionable 
world  of  Paris." 

This  was  an  uncommonly  fine  speech,  even 
for  Maggie  ;  and  Bessie  and  Belle  were  struck 
quite  dumb  by  it,  and  for  a  moment  could 
do  nothing  but  exchange  looks  and  nods  of 
admiration  and  wonder;  while  Maggie,  con- 
scious that  she  deserved  their  approval,  not 
only  for  the  sentiment,  but  also  for  the 
manner  in  which  it  had  been  expressed,  sat 
gazing  serenely  out  of  the  window  as  she 
received  the  honors  which  were  due  to 
her. 

"  Yes,  I  s'pose  so,"  said  Bessie,  with  a  long 
breath,  as  she  recovered  a  little. 


68  Belle  Powers*  Locket. 

"  I  s'pose  so  too,"  repeated  Belle,  in  a  more 
amiable  tone  than  she  had  yet  used. 

"  You  see,"  continued  Maggie,  thinking  it 
well  to  strengthen  the  good  impression  she 
had  made,  and  speaking  with  all  the  solemn 
gravity  which  befitted  one  who  had  just  uttered 
such  sublime  words,  — "  you  see  we  ought 
not  to  be  too  hard  on  Mabel,  because  she  is  so 
very  saucy  and  disobedient  to  her  mother  that 
I  expect  she  is  one  of  those  to  whom  the 
ravens  of  the  valley  shall  pick  out  her  eye  and 
the  young  eagles  shall  eat  it.  And,  children, 
it  is  plainly  to  be  seen  that  it  is  partly  her 
mother's  fault,  which  is  a  sad  thing,  and  I  fear 
she  will  have  to  bear  the  consequences.  So 
don't  you  think  we  ought  to  be  kind  to  Mabel 
and  try  if  we  cannot  do  her  some  good  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Bessie,  putting  her  arm  about 
Belle's  neck ;  "  and,  Belle,  maybe  when  Jesus 
heard  us  say  we  wanted  to  be  sunbeams  for 
Him,  He  sent  this  very  disagreeable  child  to 
be  your  trial,  so  He  could  see  if  you  were 
quite  in  earnest  about  saying  it." 


Sunlight,  69 

This  was  quite  a  new  view  of  the  subject ; 
and  somehow,  Belle  scarcely  knew  how,  she 
began  to  feel  more  kindly  towards  her  aunt 
and  cousin,  and  even  to  have  a  feeling  of  pity 
for  them.  But  the  imaginary  "  six  dirty  beg- 
gars "  had  taken  such  strong  hold  of  her 
mind  that  she  could  scarcely  resolve  all  at 
once  to  take  in  their  place  this  well-dressed, 
well-cared-for,  but  very  naughty  little  cousin. 
Mabel  could  be  good  and  happy  if  she  chose, 
and  Belle  did  not  see  why  she  should  be  at 
any  trouble  to  make  her  so,  since  nothing  but 
her  own  wilful  humors  stood  in  the  way.  Still 
Maggie's  words  and  those  of  Bessie  had  al- 
ready had  some  influence  upon  her,  and 
when  she  next  spoke  it  was  in  a  still  milder 
tone. 

"  Why,  Bessie,"  she  said,  "  do  you  really 
think  Jesus  had  Mabel  and  her  mamma  come 
here  just  so  I  could  be  a  sunbeam  to  them  and 
try  to  do  them  good  ?  I  don't  believe  He 
did." 

"  Well,  maybe  He  didn't  send  them  here 


7o  Belle  Powers^  Locket. 

just  for  that,"  answered  Bessie ;  "  but  when 
He  did  send  them,  I  think  He'd  like  you  to 
make  a  little  sunshine  for  them." 

"  And  then,"  said  fanciful  Maggie,  always 
ready  to  catch  at  what  she  thought  a  poetical 
idea,  — "  and  then,  you  know,  when  the  sun- 
shine comes  the  clouds  'most  always  go  away ; 
so  if  we  try  to  be  very  patient  and  kind  with 
Mabel,  maybe  the  clouds  of  her  crossness 
and  obstinateness  will  roll  away  and  be  seen 
no  more." 

It  was  impossible  to  hold  out  against  such 
words  of  wisdom  as  came  from  Maggie's 
lips  ;  and  Belle  began  to  feel  that  here,  after 
all,  might  be  the  very  opportunity  she  had 
wanted. 

"  And  then  that  would  make  your  aunt 
glad,"  persuaded  Bessie ;  "  and  we  are  sorry 
for  her." 

"  Um — m — m,  well,  I  don't  know  about 
that,"  said  Belle :  "  my  aunt  said  a  thing  about 
me,  —  a  very  disagreeable  thing." 

"  What  was  it  ? " 


Sunlight.  71 

"  She  said  I  wanted  some  kind  of  manage- 
ment. I  forgot  what  kind.  I  don't  know  what 
word  she  called  it,  but  it  meant  something 
horrid  I  know  ;  and  she  oughtn't  to  say  I  was 
spoiled  when  she  spoils  her  own  child." 

"No,"  said  Maggie:  "people  who  live  in 
glass  houses  oughtn't  to  throw  stones ;  but  I 
fear  they  generally  do,  for  all." 

"  What  does  that  mean  ?  "  asked  Bessie. 

"  It  means  when  we  do  a  thing  a  good  deal 
ourselves  we  oughtn't  to  speak  about  other 
people  who  do  it ;  but  we  are  apt  to." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Belle,  taking  tire  maxim 
to  herself,  though  Maggie  had  not  meant  it 
for  her,  "  I  s'pose  if  I  used  to  be  spoiled  my. 
self,  I  oughtn't  to  talk  so  much  about  my 
cousin  who  is." 

" But  you  was  never  like  that"  said  Bessie. 

"  I  used  to  be  pretty  spoiled  sometimes, 
and  yesterday  I  was  —  ugh  —  I  was  horrid," 
answered  Belle,  a  sense  of  her  own  past 
naughtiness  coming  over  her. 

"  What  did  you  do  ?  "  asked  Bessie. 


72  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

"  I  screamed  and  hollered  —  and  —  and 
I  kicked.  I  shouldn't  be  s'prised  if  my  aunt 
thought  I  was  as  naughty  as  Mabel." 

"  She  that  repents  ought  to  make  haste  to 
show  her  repentance,"  said  Maggie.  "  That 
is  a  new  proverb  I  made  up  on  purpose  for 
you,  Belle,  'cause  I  thought  it  suited  you." 

"  Oh !  thank  you,  Maggie,"  said  Belle : 
"  then  I'll  do  it." 

And  so  our  three  little  girls  resolved  that 
they  would  at  least  meet  Mabel  kindly  and 
politely ;  and  as  far  as  possible  put  the  re- 
membrance of  her  past  ill-behavior  from  their 
minds. 


V. 


A  DAY  WITH  MAGGIE  AND  BESSIE. 


ABEL  herself  had  some  doubts  as  to 
the  reception  she  should  meet  with 
if  she  went  to  Mrs.  Bradford's  ;  and 
when  her  mother  first  proposed  it,  refused  to 
go.  Daphne,  who  had  heard  the  story  from 
Belle,  had  not  failed  to  let  Mabel  know  that 
this  lady  and  her  little  girls  were  the  friends 
with  whom  she  had  met  her  cousin  yesterday  ; 
and  had  also  drawn  a  very  vivid  picture  of  the 
disgust  and  dislike  with  which  such  behavior 
as  hers  was  always  regarded  in  their  family. 

So,  as  I  have  said,  Mabel  at  first  refused  to 
go  near  them ;  but  finding  it  dull  in  the  hotel 


74  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

with  only  the  two  nurses  for  company,  as  her 
mamma  and  uncle  had  gone  out,  she  changed 
her  mind  and  declared  that  she  would  go  to 
Mrs.  Bradford's  "  to  see  what  it  is  like,  and 
only  stay  just  as  long  as  I'm  a  mind  to." 

"  And  yer  needn't  think  you'll  disappint 
nobody  but  yerself  if  yer  come  away,  little 
miss,"  said  Daphne,  spitefully ;  for  Mabel's 
new  whim  did  not  please  her  at  all,  and  she 
would  much  rather  she  should  have  kept  to  her 
first  decision,  and  not  have  bestowed  her  com- 
pany where  the  old  woman  thought  it  little 
desired. 

However,  she  did  not  dare,  much  as  she 
would  have  liked  to  do  so,  to  refuse  to  show 
Mabel  and  her  nurse  the  way  to  Mrs.  Brad- 
ford's house  ;  but  she  revenged  herself  by 
leading  them  by  the  longest  road  and  least 
pleasant  way.  But  this,  however  much  it 
pleased  Daphne,  did  no  hurt  to  Mabel,  since 
she  enjoyed  the  walk  and  had  no  idea  of 
Daphne's  object. 

"  I'se  brought  you  a  Tartar,"  was  the  old 


A  Day  with  Maggie  and  Bessie.     75 

colored  woman's  whispered  introduction  to 
Mrs.  Bradford's  nurse  when  they  entered  the 
nursery  ;  and  mammy,  too,  looked  askance  at 
the  stranger,  who  immediately  perceived  that 
she  was  not  too  welcome. 

But  before  she  had  time  to  turn  about 
again  and  say  that  she  would  not  stay,  Mag- 
gie came  running  from  the  play-room  ;  and 
putting  all  shyness  and  prejudice  out  of  mind, 
she  went  up  to  Mabel,  took  her  by  the  hand, 
and  said  kindly,  — 

"  We  have  to  feel  a  little  acquainted  with 
you  before  we  know  you,  because  you  are 
Belle's  cousin ;  and  she  is  our  inseparable. 
Come  into  the  play-room.  You  came  so  late 
it  is  'most  time  for  our  dinner,  but  we  will 
have  a  good  play  afterwards." 

Such  a  long,  friendly  speech  to  any  stran- 
ger, even  one  of  her  own  age,  was  a  great 
effort  for  Maggie ;  but  for  Belle's  sake  she 
wanted  to  make  Mabel  comfortable,  and  put 
her  on  her  good  behavior  at  once.  And  she 
succeeded  ;  for  the  pout  passed  from  Mabel's 


76  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

lip  and  the  frown  from  her  brow,  as  she 
said,  — 

"  Yes,  we  will ;  and  see  what  a  big  box  of 
sugar-plums  I  have  brought.  We'll  eat  them 
all  up." 

"  If  mamma  gives  us  leave  ;  but  I  am  quite 
sure  she  will  not,"  said  Maggie  to  herself,  and 
then  said  aloud, — 

"  We  might  play  with  them,  and  you  shall 
be  the  store- woman  if  you  like." 

"  Yes,  so  we  will,"  said  Mabel.  "  Didn't 
Belle  try  to  make  you  mad  at  me  ?  She's  as 
mad  as  any  thing  at  me  herself,  and  won't 
speak  to  me,  when  I  never  did  a  thing  to 
her." 

"  Oh !  she's  all  over  that  now,"  said  Mag- 
gie, wisely  noticing  only  the  last  part  of 
Mabel's  speech.  "  She  and  Bessie  are  putting 
on  the  dolls'  best  suits  for  you.  Come  and 
see  them." 

And  half-ashamed,  half-defiant,  Mabel  fol- 
lowed her  little  hostess  into  the  play-room  to 
greet  Bessie  and  Belle. 


A  Day  with  Maggie  and  Bessie,     *]*] 

If  Mabel  was  a  little  shame-faced,  Belle  was 
still  more  so ;  for  she  was  not  accustomed  to 
behave  in  the  way  she  had  done  that  morning, 
and  her  conscience  was  more  tender  than  Ma- 
bel's. But  now  that  she  had  resolved  to  do 
better  she  would  not  let  shame  stand  in  her 
way;  and  going  right  up  to  Mabel,  she  said, — 

"  Let's  kiss  and  make  up,  Mabel.  I'm 
sorry  I  was  so  cross  this  morning." 

"  And  will  you  let  me  have  your  play- 
things ? "  asked  Mabel,  as  she  accepted 
Belle's  offered  kiss. 

"  To  look  at  and  play  with,  but  not  to 
keep,"  answered  Belle.  "  I'll  even  let  you 
have  my  carved  animals  —  if  you  will  be  care- 
ful," she  added,  determined  not  to  stop  half 
way  in  her  effort  to  make  peace. 

And  now  came  mamma,  rather  expecting  to 
find  the  little  ones  awkward  and  uncomfort- 
able together  after  all  that  had  passed;  but 
lo !  all  was  peace  and  sunshine.  Her  Bessie, 
it  is  true,  watched  the  young  stranger  with 
serious  eyes,  and  had  on  her  disapproving 


78  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

look ;  for  Bessie  had  been  more  shocked  than 
it  would  be  easy  to  tell  by  Mabel's  misbe- 
havior of  the  day  before,  and  found  it  hard 
work  to  forget  it.  If  Mabel  had  been  some 
poor,  ragged,  neglected  child,  with  no  one  to 
care  for  her,  and  many  a  temptation  in  her 
way,  Bessie  would  have  been  the  first  one  to 
make  excuses  for  her,  and  to  say  that  nothing 
better  could  be  expected  from  her  ;  but  that 
any  little  girl  who  had  loving  friends  and  all 
manner  of  comforts  and  pleasures  about  her 
should  be  so  perverse  and  troublesome,  seemed 
to  her  out  of  all  reason  and  hardly  to  be  for- 
given. 

Still,  though  she  wore  her  demure  little 
manner,  she  was  very  polite  to  Mabel,  and  as 
ready  as  Maggie  to  show  all  her  dolls  and 
other  treasures.  Mabel  too,  being  pleased  and 
amused,  was  on  her  good  behavior ;  and  all 
was  going  smoothly. 

Before  long  the  children  were  called  to  their 
dinner.  Mabel  looked  disdainfully  at  the  nice 
but  simple  food  which  was  set  before  them, 


A  Day  with  Maggie  and  Bessie,     79 

and  refused  this,  that,  and  the  other  thing, 
saying  she  did  "  not  like  them." 

"  But  you  will  be  hungry  before  you  go 
home  if  you  do  not  eat  now,  my  dear,"  said 
Mrs.  Bradford. 

"  I'm  waiting  for  something  better,"  said 
Mabel ;  at  which  piece  of  rudeness  all  the 
other  children,  including  even  little  Frankie, 
opened  their  eyes  in  wonder. 

"  You  will  have  nothing  else  except  some 
plain  dessert,"  said  Mrs.  Bradford. 

Mabel  pouted,  pushed  her  plate  from  her, 
and  kicked  with  her  feet  upon  the  legs  of  her 
chair ;  but  the  lady  took  no  notice,  although 
the  three  little  girls  could  not  help  exchang- 
ing looks  and  biting  their  lips,  to  express  to 
one  another  their  disapproval  of  such  con- 
duct. 

But  to  Frankie,  who  was  blessed  with  an 
uncommonly  fine  appetite,  this  refusal  to  par- 
take of  a  good  meal  seemed  a  most  extraor- 
dinary and  unheard-of  thing  ;  so«,  after  staring 
at  her  with  a  pitying  look  for  some  moments, 


80  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

and  vainly  offering  her  every  dainty  within  his 
reach,  even  to  "  de  nice  brown  stin  off  my 
sweet  potato,"  he  seemed  convinced  that  she 
was  only  naughty,  and  set  about  correcting  her. 

"  Did  oo  ever  see  Willum  what  is  in  '  Slov 
enly  Peter  '  boot  ?  "'  he  asked. 

The  only  answer  he  received  was  a  pettish 
shrug  of  Mabel's  shoulders  and  a  fresh  kick 
upon  the  chair. 

"  'Tause  he  was  lite  oo,  and  wouldn't  eat 
his  soup,"  said  Master  Frankie,  with  an  air 
of  stern  reproof;  "  an'  oo  will  be  lite  him,  an' 
*  when  de  fif  day  tame,  alas !  dey  laid  oo  in 
de  dround.' " 

"Which  proved  too  much  for  the  gravity  of 
his  little  sisters  and  Belle,  who  thought  this 
extremely  funny;  and,  in  spite  of  Mabel's 
scowl,  went  off  into  peals  of  merry  laughter. 

Mabel  hoped  and  expected  that  Mrs.  Brad- 
ford, seeing  she  would  not  eat  what  was  set 
before  her,  would  send  for  some  more  dainty 
and  richer  food ;  but  she  soon  found  this  was 
not  to  be,  and  that  the  lady  did  not  even  ap- 


A  Day  with  Maggie  and  Bessie,     8 1 

pear  to  trouble  herself  because  she  would  not 
eat.  This  was  something  quite  new  to  Mabel, 
who  was  surprised  as  well  as  displeased  at 
Mrs.  Bradford's  unconcern. 

When  the  dessert  was  put  upon  the  table, 
there  was  a  plain  rice  pudding  and  a  small 
dish  of  bright  clear  jelly. 

"  I'll  take  jelly,"  said  Mabel,  not  waiting 
till  she  was  asked,  as  a  polite  child  would  have 
done. 

Mrs.  Bradford  quietly  helped  each  child  to 
a  portion  of  the  pudding  and  some  jelly,  leav- 
ing but  little  of  the  latter  in  the  dish. 

Mabel  eat  up  her  jelly  as  fast  as  possible, 
keeping  her  eye  all  the  while  on  what  re- 
mained in  the  dish ;  and  as  soon  as  she  had 
finished  her  own,  thrust  out  her  plate,  say- 
ing,— 

"  More,  please." 

Mrs.  Bradford  gave  it  to  her  without  a  word ; 
but  Frankie,  encouraged  by  the  applause  with 
which  his  first  reproof  had  been  received, 
thought  himself  called  upon  for  another. 


82  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

Frankie  pinned  his  faith  on  "  Slovenly 
Peter ; "  knew  it  all  by  heart,  quoted  from  it 
on  all  occasions,  and  drew  from  it  lessons  and 
examples  suitable  to  himself  and  others. 

"  Dere's  anoder  boy  named  Jatob  in  '  Slov- 
enly Peter/"  he  said  severely:  "he  was  so 
dweedy  dat  he  brote  hisself  in  two.  I  s'pose 
you'll  be  lite  him,"  he  added,  not  at  all  dis- 
turbed by  the  want  of  similarity  between  the 
two  unhappy  fates  he  had  predicted  for  Mabel. 

And  Mabel  felt  somewhat  abashed  when  she 
saw  how  her  greediness  had  struck  this  little 
boy,  who  she  could  not  but  see  behaved  far 
better  than  herself. 

"  Mamma,"  said  Bessie,  "  would  you  rather 
I  should  not  eat  the  raisins  in  my  pudding  ?  " 

14  Well,  yes,  darling,  I  think  you  had  better 
not  as  you  were  not  very  well  this  morn- 
ing," said  her  mother. 

Again  Mabel  was  surprised.  She  knew 
very  well  that  she  would  have  rebelled  against 
such  an  order,  and  had  her  own  way  too  ;  but 
here  was  this  little  girl  not  only  submitting 


A  Day  with  Maggie  and  Bessie.     83 

quietly  and  cheerfully  to  what  Mabel  looked 
upon  as  a  hardship,  but  actually  asking  if  it 
was  her  mother's  wish.  It  was  something 
quite  new  to  Mabel. 

Had  Bessie  talked  to  her  for  an  hour  about 
her  greedy,  wilful  ways,  it  would  not  have 
done  one  half  the  good  that  the  example  of  her 
own  simple  regard  to  her  mother's  wishes  did. 
And  Mabel  looked  at  Bessie,  then  down  upon 
her  plate,  then  raised  her  eyes  to  Bessie's 
again,  with  some  admiration  mingled  with  the 
wonder  in  them ;  and  little  Belle,  who  was 
watching  her  cousin,  said  to  herself,  — 

"  Now,  I  just  b'lieve  Bessie  is  a  sunbeam, 
showing  Mabel  the  right,  best  way  to  mind  her 
mother ;  but  Bessie  don't  know  she  did  it." 

Quite  right,  little  Belle !  And  it  was  not 
the  first  ray  of  light  which  had  fallen  that  day 
upon  Mabel's  wilful  and  selfish  but  not  har- 
dened young  spirit.  Already  was  she  be- 
ginning to  wonder  what  these  children,  so 
obedient  and  docile,  must  think  of  her,  and 
to  feel  ashamed  of  her  conduct  before  them. 


84  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

For  some  time  past  a  favorite  practice  of 
the  three  little  girls,  —  Maggie,  Bessie,  and 
Belle,  —  had  been  to  draw  what  they  called 
"  proverb-pictures." 

This  was  an  invention  of  Maggie's,  and  was 
considered  by  the  children  an  unfailing  source 
not  only  of  amusement,  but  also  of  profit. 
For  all  manner  of  useful  hints  and  gentle  moral 
lessons  were  supposed  to  be  conveyed  in  these 
pictures  ;  and  if  one  noticed  any  thing  in  the 
conduct  or  speech  of  another  which  did  not 
seem  exactly  proper,  she  would  make  a  prov- 
erb-picture, and  kindly  present  it  to  the  short- 
comer. 

At  first  a  proverb  had  always  been  taken 
as  a  foundation  for  these  pictures,  and  Maggie 
manufactured  a  good  many  for  the  purpose : 
hence  their  name  ;  but  after  a  while  they  were 
sometimes  drawn  without  reference  to  any 
particular  maxim  or  saying,  and  suited  only 
to  the  need  of  the  moment. 

And  I  am  bound  to  say  that  they  answered 
their  intended  purpose :  such  hints,  if  needed, 


A  Day  with  Maggie  and  Bessie.    85 

were  always  taken  in  good  part  and  seldom 
neglected ;  indeed,  it  was  considered  rather 
a  treat  to  receive  one,  especially  from  Maggie, 
and  each  little  girl  treasured  those  which  were 
given  to  her  with  great  care,  and  frequently- 
studied  them  over. 

Nor  were  they  considered  only  as  a  means 
of  mild  reproof  or  gentle  persuasion  to  do 
right;  but  many  a  little  incident  and  scene 
of  their  daily  lives  were  represented,  and  all 
these  formed  to  their  thinking  a  very  interest- 
ing collection. 

It  is  true  that  the  pictures  generally  needed 
considerable  explanation,  not  only  to  other 
friends  who  might  be  treated  to  a  sight  of 
them,  but  also  to  one  another ;  but  this  was 
really  a  part  of  the  pleasure,  and  afforded 
great  satisfaction  to  the  young  artists.  That 
is,  to  Belle  and  Bessie ;  Maggie  was  rather 
shy  about  doing  this,  and  preferred  to  label 
her  pictures,  or  to  write  a  short  explanation 
beneath. 

There  could  be  no  doubt  that  of  the  three 


86  Belle  Powers*  Locket. 

Belle  made  the  best  pictures,  indeed  they 
were  not  bad  for  a  child  of  her  age ;  and 
Maggie  and  Bessie  took  much  pride  in  what 
they  considered  her  great  talent,  and  encour- 
aged her  to  make  the  most  of  it,  and  put  it  in 
constant  practice. 

So  now  Maggie  bethought  herself  that  it 
would  be  well  for  Belle  to  try  to  do  her  cousin 
some  good  by  means  of  these  "  pro  verb- pic- 
tures." She  did  not  feel  intimate  enough 
with  her  as  yet  to  try  to  do  so  herself,  but 
she  thought  that  Belle  being  such  a  near  re- 
lation might  very  well  do  it  without  giving 
offence. 

When  they  left  the  table  she  drew  Belle 
aside  and  whispered  to  her :  — 

"  Belle,  wouldn't  it  be  a  good  plan  to  try 
Mabel  with  some  proverb-pictures,  and  see  if 
they  will  improve  her  ?  You  know  it's  a  much 
agreeabler  way  of  having  a  good  lesson  than 
being  scolded  or  having  people  mad  with  you." 

"  Yes,"  said  Belle :  "  let's  do  it  now." 

"  No,"   said   Maggie,  "  'cause  it  would  be 


A  Day  with  Maggie  and  Bessie,     87 

stupid  for  her  while  we  made  the  pictures; 
besides,  I  don't  think  Bessie  and  I  know  her 
well  enough  yet,  but  you  might  do  it  when 
you  go  home.  I  composed  two  proverbs  that 
may  do  her  some  good,  if  you  like  to  take 
them." 

"  Yes,"  said  Belle :  "  tell  me  'em,  Maggie." 

"  One  is,  *  The  greedy  pig  don't  get  much, 
after  all,'  "  said  Maggie. 

"  Oh,  yes  ! "  said  Belle,  seeing  the  beauty 
of  the  application  at  once,  and  much  struck 
with  its  force. 

"  And  the  other,"  said  Maggie,  "  is,  '  All 
6hun  a  disagreeable  child.'  " 

"  What  is  shun  ?  "  asked  Belle. 

"  To  run  away,"  answered  Maggie. 

"Yes,"  said  Belle,  thoughtfully:  "those 
will  make  very  nice  pictures,  Maggie.  I'll 
take  'em.  Say  'em  again,  'fear  I  forget;" 
and  she  repeated  the  new  "  proverbs "  over 
several  times  after  Maggie,  and  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  afternoon  her  mind  was  much 
occupied  with  plans  for  making  fine  drawings 
of  them  for  her  cousin's  benefit. 


VI. 


PR  0  VERB-PICTURES. 

OR  the  rest  of  the  day  Mabel  behaved 
better,  on  the  whole,  than  the  other 
children  had  expected.  It  is  true 
that  she  was  well  amused,  and  also  that  being 
a  stranger  and  company,  the  other  little  girls 
gave  way  to  her,  and  let  her  do  pretty  much 
as  she  pleased.  She  showed  herself  rather 
selfish,  however,  taking  all  their  kindness  as 
a  matter  of  course,  and  always  seizing  upon 
the  best  and  prettiest  things  for  her  own  use. 

But  when  it  was  time  to  go  home,  and  the 
nurses  came  for  Belle  and  Mabel,  there  was 
much  such  a  scene  as  had  taken  place  on  the 
day  when   Mabel   had  first  been  met  by  the 


Proverb- Pictures.  89 

other  children.  She  positively  refused  to  go 
home ;  and  when  Mrs.  Bradford  insisted  that 
she  should  obey,  was  led  shrieking  and  scream- 
ing from  the  house,  fighting  with  her  long- 
suffering  nurse  in  a  manner  which  made  poor 
Belle  feel  "  too  'shamed  for  any  thing  to  go 
in  the  street  with  such  disrespectable  behavior," 
and  caused  Daphne  to  declare  that  she  and 
Miss  Belle  had  "  never  been  so  degraced  in 
all  our  born  days." 

This  determined  Belle  to  carry  out  her  plan 
of  the  "  proverb-pictures  "  as  soon  as  possible  ; 
and  when  her  hat  was  taken  off,  she  immedi- 
ately begged  her  papa  for  a  sheet  of  fool's-cap . 
paper  and  a  pencil,  and  fell  to  work. 

When  Mabel  saw  what  she  was  about,  she 
wanted  to  draw  also  ;  and  her  uncle  furnished 
her  with  paper  and  pencil. 

"  What  are  you  making  ?  "  asked  Mabel. 

"  I'll  tell  you  by  and  by,  when  it's  all  done," 
said  Belle,  severely.  "  It's  not  ready  for  you 
to  understand  just  yet;  but  it's  going  to  be 
a  very  good  lesson  for  you  " 


90  Belle  Powers*  Locket. 

However,  she  suffered  Mabel  to  look  over 
her  paper,  and  even  to  copy  the  figures  which 
grew  beneath  her  busy  fingers  ;  Mabel  little 
thinking  all  the  while  that  she  herself  was 
the  subject  of  the  pictures.  Meantime  Mr. 
Powers  and  Mrs.  Walton,  pleased  to  see  the 
children  so  quiet,  and  apparently  agreeing  so 
well,  talked  quietly  together. 

But  this  proved  too  good  to  last. 

"Now  they're  all  done,  and  I'll  tell  you 
about  them ;  and  we'll  see  if  they'll  improve 
you,"  said  Belle,  when  she  had  completed 
two  pictures.  "  Do  you  see  these  animals  ?  " 
and  she  pointed  with  her  pencil  to  a  curious 
collection  of  four-legged  objects,  with  every 
possible  variety  of  tail  among  them. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mabel :  "  what  are  they  ? 
Bugs  ? " 

"  No,"  answered  Belle,  indignantly :  "  they 
are  pigs.  This  is  a  *  proverb-picture.  Prov 
erbs  are  meant  to  do  people  good,  or  give 
them  a  lesson ;  but  Maggie  and  Bessie  and  I 
think  pictures  make  'em  plainer.     This  is  a 


Proverb-Pictures,  91 

proverb  that  Maggie  made  up.  Here  is  a  man 
pouring  milk  into  a  trough  what  the  pigs  eat 
out  of,  and  this  pig,"  —  directing  Mabel's 
attention  to  a  creature  without  any  legs,  those 
four  members  which  were  supposed  to  belong 
to  him  lying  scattered  in  all  directions  over 
the  picture,  while  long  streaks  intended  to 
represent  floods  of  tears  poured  from  his  eyes, 
—  "  and  this  pig  was  so  greedy  that  he  ran 
as  fast  as  he  could  to  the  end  of  the  trough 
where  he  fought  the  man  was  going  to  pour 
the  milk.  But  the  man  fought  he'd  serve 
him  right,  and  so  he  went  to  the  ofer  end  and 
poured  the  milk  in  there :  and  when  the  pig 
tried  to  run  there,  his  legs  were  so  tired  they 
all  fell  off;  so  he  couldn't  get  any  milk, 
and  he  cried  so  much  he  most  drowned  him- 
self. And  the  proverb  of  the  picture  is,  '  The 
greedy  pig  don't  get  much,  after  all.'  When 
pigs  or  other  people  are  greedy,  their  legs 
gen'ally  come  off,  or  other  accidents ;  and  if 
they  don't,  people  think  they're  very  horrid, 
any  way.  Do  you  know  who  the  greedy  pig 
is  meant  for  ? " 


92  Belle  Powers9  Locket. 

Mabel  had  a  pretty  clear  idea,  and  was  not 
pleased,  which  was  not  at  all  strange;  but 
her  curiosity  was  excited  respecting  the  other 
picture,  and  she  determined  to  satisfy  it  be- 
fore she  made  any  disturbance. 

"  What  is  this  picture  ? "  she  asked,  pout- 
ing, but  taking  no  farther  notice  of  Belle's 
question. 

In  the  second  sketch  a  number  of  square 
and  triangular  bodies,  with  little,  round  heads, 
and  long,  sprawling  legs  and  arms,  were 
grouped  together  in  the  wildest  confusion  at 
the  two  ends  of  the  picture,  which  extended 
the  whole  length  of  the  sheet.  In  the  middle 
was  an  object  supposed  to  represent  a  car- 
riage, the  like  whereof  was  never  contrived 
by  any  coach-maker  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth  ;  while  a  horse,  in  the  same  condition  as 
the  pig  before  mentioned, — namely,  with  all 
his  legs  broken  off, — lay  upon  the  ground;  his 
mate,  looking  much  like  a  chair  turned  upside 
down,  standing  by,  disconsolate.  But  the 
chief  interest  of  the  picture  was  intended  to 


Proverb-Pictures.  93 

lie  in  the  central  figure,  in  which  a  small  child, 
with  very  short  skirts  and  very  long  limbs, 
was  represented  as  dancing  wildly  about,  with 
not  rivers,  —  as  in  the  case  of  the  pig,  —  but 
cataracts  of  tears  spouting  from  her  eyes. 
Two  circles,  one  within  the  other,  stood  for 
her  head ;  the  inner  one,  nearly  as  large  as 
the  outer,  being  her  mouth,  stretched  to  its 
utmost  extent.  And  lest  there  should  be  any 
mistake  as  to  the  likeness,  below  this  figure 
was  printed  in  large,  crooked  letters,  — 

MA  B  UR  L. 

"  That,"  said  Belle,  more  sternly  than  be- 
fore, "  is  a  picture  about  another  proverb  that 
Maggie  made  up  on  purpose  to  be  of  use  to 
you.  The  name  of  it  is,  '  All  scamper  away 
as  fast  as  they  can  go  from  a  spoiled  child  ; ' 
at  least,  that  was  what  she  meant.  Here  is 
the  spoiled  child,  squealing  and  hollering; 
there  is  a  poor  horse  that  broke  his  leg ;  and 
here  are  all  the  people  in  the  street  running 
away  from  her.     These  four  are  policemen, 


94  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

and  they  were  going  to  take  her  up ;  but  even 
the  policemen  would  not  stand  her,  and  ran 
away  too.  Even  her  mother  'came  degusted 
at  her  at  last,  and  left  her ;  so  she  had  not  a 
single  person  left.  And  she  had  no  one  to 
give  her  something  to  eat,  and  no  one  to  put 
her  to  bed ;  so  she  had  to  sleep  in  the  gutter, 
and  be  starved,  and  in  the  morning  she  was 
dead,  and  all  dirty  out  of  the  gutter." 

"  She  wasn't  either,'"  said  Mabel. 

"  She  was  too,"  contradicted  Belle. 

Mabel  made  a  snatch  at  the  picture,  which 
Belle  as  quickly  drew  from  her,  so  that  be- 
tween them  it  was  torn  in  two ;  and  Mabel  at 
the  same  moment  set  up  the  shriek  she  al- 
ways gave  when  she  was  displeased. 

Mr.  Powers  and  Mrs.  Walton,  their  con- 
versation thus  suddenly  brought  to  an  end, 
turned  hastily  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 

It  was  a  sorry  sight  that  met  their  eyes. 
Belle  stood  looking  at  her  cousin  with  a  face 
which,  to  do  her  justice,  was  only  intended 
as  the  expression  of  outraged  and  offended 


Proverb- Pictures.  95 

virtue  ;  while  Mabel,  shrieking  with  passion, 
was  frantically  tearing  to  bits  the  half  of  the 
sheet  she  had  secured. 

"  What  is  it,  children  ?  What  are  you  quar- 
relling about  now  ?  "  asked  both  the  parents 
at  once. 

Mabel  did  not,  perhaps  could  not,  answer ; 
but  Belle  spoke  up  boldly. 

"  I'm  not  quarrelling,  papa,"  she  said.  "I 
was  just  trying  to  give  Mabel  a  lesson  of  what 
might  happen  to  her  if  she  didn't  behave 
herself,  and  she  was  mad  about  it;  and  she 
tore  my  picture,  —  my  nice,  pretty  proverb-pic- 
ture that  I  would  have  given  her  if  she  had 
been  good  and  improved  herself  by  it.  I  know 
Maggie  and  Bessie  would  think  it  very  inter- 
esting if  they  saw  it,  and  now  I  can't  show  it 
to  them  ; "  and  Belle  held  up  the  torn  sheet 
with  a  very  aggrieved  air.  "  It  was  only  good 
intentions,  papa ;  and  she  went  and  wouldn't 
have  'em,"  she  added,  feeling  herself  almost 
equal  to  Maggie  Bradford  as  she  made  this 
grand  speech. 


96  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

Even  Mrs.  Walton  could  not  help  smiling 
in  the  midst  of  her  efforts  to  quiet  the  scream- 
ing Mabel  and  lead  her  from  the  room. 

When  they  were  gone,  Mr.  Powers  took  his 
little  daughter  on  his  knee  ;  but  Belle  was  not 
satisfied  to  see  that  he  looked  very  grave. 
For  a  moment  or  two  neither  spoke,  Belle 
not  knowing  exactly  what  to  say,  although  she 
did  wish  to  excuse  herself;  while  her  father 
seemed  to  be  thinking. 

At  last  he  said,  — 

"  My  little  girl,  how  long  is  this  to  go  on  ?" 

"  What,  papa  ?  "  asked  Belle,  though  she 
had  a  pretty  clear  idea  what  he  meant. 

"  This  constant  quarrelling  between  you  and 
your  cousin.  Your  aunt  and  I  are  very  glad 
to  see  one  another  again ;  but  all  our  comfort 
is  destroyed  because  you  and  Mabel  disagree 
all  the  time." 

Belle  looked  rather  hurt. 

"  I'm  sure,  papa,"  she  said,  "  I  have  tried 
to  be  good  to-day,  ever  since  I  went  to  Mag- 
gie's and  Bessie's ;  and  she  was  a  little  good 


Proverb- Pictures,  97 

too,  but  greedy  and  selfish.  And  then  she 
was  in  such  a  passion  when  we  had  to  come 
home,  I  fought  I'd  better  try  to  correct  her. 
And  I'm  sure  I  fought  proverb-pictures  was  a 
good  way  to  do  it,  but  they  just  made  her 
mad.  I  s'pose  I  might  have  known  it,"  she 
added,  with  a  sigh :  "  she  is  so  very  bad  and 
spoiled  that  things  that  do  other  children 
good  only  make  her  worse.  See,  papa,  if  this 
wasn't  a  nice  lesson  for  her  ;  "  and  spreading 
out  the  half  of  the  sheet  which  she  held, 
Belle  explained  to  her  papa  the  portion  of  her 
picture  which  still  remained. 

Certainly,  Mr.  Powers  did  not  find  the  like- 
ness to  Mabel  very  nattering,  or  think  it  calcu- 
lated to  put  her  in  a  good  humor  with  herself 
or  the  little  artist.  Nevertheless,  he  smiled  a 
little,  which  encouraged  Belle,  and  she  went 
on:  — 

"I  know  that  child  must  come  to   a  bad 

end,"  she  said ;  "  and  I  shall  never  try  again 

to  be  friends  with  her,  or  to  do  her  good,  — 

no,  never,  never !  " 

7 


98  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

"  Where  is  the  little  girl  that  wanted  to  be  a 
sunbeam  and  shine  for  Jesus,  and  show  others 
the  way  to  Him  ?  "  asked  her  father. 

Belle  hung  her  head. 

"  But,  papa,"  she  said  presently,  "  you  see 
it's  no  use  with  her.  I  b'lieve  she's  the  wick- 
edest girl  that  ever  lived,  and  I  don't  believe 
there's  any  thing  bad  she  wouldn't  do  if  she 
had  a  chance.  She  took  Baby  Annie's  chair 
to-day ;  and  when  baby  didn't  know  any 
better,  and  cried  for  it,  Mabel  wouldn't  give  it 
to  her.  I  think  I'll  just  make  up  my  mind  to 
leave  her  be  all  the  rest  of  her  life,  and  make 
b'lieve  she  isn't  my  cousin.  I  wish  she  stayed 
to  Boston  or  else  to  Europe." 

"  For  He  maketh  His  sun  to  rise  on  the 
evil  and  on  the  good,"  said  Mr.  Powers, 
softly. 

Belle  gave  another  long,  despairing  sigh, 
and  laid  her  head  back  against  her  father's 
shoulder;  but  she  made  no  more  attempt  to 
excuse  herself  or  to  blame  her  cousin. 

"  I  will  not   say  that  you   had   not   some 


Proverb-Pictures,  99 

thought  of  doing  good  to  Mabel,"  said  Mr. 
Powers ;  "  but  you  began  wrong,  Belle.  I 
think  you  did  not  have  very  kind  feelings  in 
your  heart,  and  that  you  looked  only  at  what 
was  naughty  and  perverse  in  her ;  and  so  your 
picture  was  not  pleasant,  and  only  made  her 
angry.  You  and  Maggie  and  Bessie  under- 
stand and  love  one  another,  and  so  you  take 
it  pleasantly  and  patiently  when  one  among 
you  tries  this  way  of  helping  another  in  what 
is  right.  But  I  hardly  think  that  any  one  of 
you  three,  good  friends  as  you  are,  would  have 
been  very  much  pleased  to  have  had  such  a 
picture  made  of  you." 

Belle  sat  thoughtful  a  moment,  and  then 
answered,  — 

"  Well,  no,  papa,  I  don't  b'lieve  I  would 
have  liked  it,  if  Maggie  or  Bessie  had  made 
a  proverb-picture  about  me  slapping  Daphne, 
or  being  in  a  passion,  or  doing  any  of  those 
very  naughty  things  I  used  to  do  so  much. 
But,  papa,  don't  you  think  my  patience  about 
Mabel  must  be  'most  used  up  ?  " 


ioo  Belle  Powers^  Locket, 

"  See  here,"  said  Mr.  Powers,  drawing  to- 
ward him  a  large  Bible  which  lay  near,  and 
turning  over  the  leaves  till  he  found  the  words 
he  wanted,  —  "  see  here,  dear,  listen  to  these 
words :  i  Charity  suffereth  long  and  is  kind, 
is  not  easily  provoked,  thinketh  no  evil,  bear- 
eth  all  things,  believeth  all  things,  hopeth  all 
things.'  I  am  afraid  my  little  Belle  has  not 
that  kind  of  charity  towards  her  cousin." 

"  Charity,  papa  ?  "  said  Belle  :  "  charity 
means  giving  money  and  things  to  beggars 
and  poor  people,  doesn't  it  ?  " 

"  Charity  here  means  love,"  said  Mr. 
Powers,  —  "  love  to  God  and  to  man,  that  love 
which  makes  us  want  to  work  for  Jesus  by 
being  gentle  and  patient  with  the  faults  of 
others ;  which  will  not  let  us  be  made  angry 
by  little  things  ;  which  is  not  ready  to  think 
harm  of  our  friends  and  playmates  ;  love  which 
believes  and  hopes  that  even  those  who  are 
very  wrong  and  naughty  may  be  made  better, 
and  which  teaches  us  to  take  the  pleasantest 
way  of  doing  this,  not  showing  others  their 


Proverb-Pictures*  ioi 

faults  in  a  manner  to  pain  or  anger  them,  but 
trying  to  show  them  the  better  way  by  an 
example  of  kindness  and  gentleness." 

"Urn  —  m  —  m,  no,  papa,"  said  Belle, 
thoughtfully,  when  her  father  ceased  speak- 
ing :  "  I  don't  think  I  have  much  of  that  kind 
of  love-charity  to  Mabel,  —  no,  I  don't  b'lieve 
I  have." 

"  I  fear  not,"  said  her  papa  ;  "  but  will  you 
not  try  for  it,  my  darling  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  she  answered  ;  "  but  you  couldn't 
s'pect  it  would  come  very  quick,  papa.  You 
see  I  don't  know  Mabel  very  well  yet,  and  I 
guess  I  don't  care  'bout  knowing  her  any 
more  than  I  do  now.  She's  so  very,  very 
spoiled,  and  I  b'lieve  she'll  never  be  any 
better." 

" '  Charity  believe th  all  things,  hopeth  all 
things,'  "  said  Mr.  Powers. 

"  Is  that  in  the  Bible  Proverbs  ? "  asked 
Belle. 

"  No,  it  is  not  in  Proverbs ;  but  I  can  give 
you   a  verse  from  Proverbs  which  may  help 


102  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

you :  e  A  soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath.' 
Wrath  means  anger." 

"  Oh,  yes !  "  said  Belle  :  "  I  found  that  out ; 
because  to-day,  when  Mabel  spoke  very  angry 
and  cross,  Bessie  answered  her  very  pleasant 
and  nice ;  and  Mabel  looked  at  her  just  as  if 
she  didn't  know  what  to  make  of  her;  and 
then  she  spoke  nicely  too,  and  quite  behaved 
herself.  I  s'pose  Bessie  has  love-charity  for 
Mabel.  Tell  me  those  words  again,  papa.  I'll 
learn  a  little  bit  of  'em  every  day  till  I  know 
'em  all,  and  try  to  do  'em  too." 

Her  father  did  as  she  asked  ;  and  then,  for 
it  was  growing  late,  sent  her  away  to  bed,  sat- 
isfied that  his  lesson  was  taking  root,  and  that 
Belle  was  sorry  —  though  she  did  not  say  so 
—  that  she  had  offended  Mabel  by  her  "  prov- 
erb-picture." 

He  would  have  been  still  more  sure  of  this, 
and  well  pleased  too,  had  he  heard  his  little 
girl  when  Daphne  was  undressing  her,  and  as 
usual  began  to  talk  of  Mabel  in  a  very  uncom- 
plimentary way. 


Proverb-Pictures.  103 

"  Daffy,"  said  Belle,  "  I  guess  we'll  have 
some  charity  for  Mabel,  not  beggar-charity, 
but  love-charity,  that  '  b'lieveth  all  things, 
hopeth  all  things,'  and  makes  up  its  mind 
maybe  she  will  learn  better,  and  be  good, 
after  all." 


VII. 


MABELS  NEW  WHIM. 

■LEASE  give  me  my  puf-folio, 
Daphne,"  were  Belle's  first  words 
in  the  morning  before  she  was  up. 
"  Puf-folio  "  stood  for  port-folio  in  Belle's 
English ;  and  the  one  in  question  was  greatly 
prized  by  her,  as  were  aiso  the  contents.  It 
had  been  given  to  her  by  Harry  Bradford,  who 
had  also  presented  one  to  each  of  his  little 
sisters ;  and  was  formed  of  large  sheets  of 
pasteboard,  bound  and  tied  together  with 
bright-colored  ribbons  ;  Belle's  with  red, 
Bessie's  with  blue,  and  Maggie's  with  purple. 
To  be  sure,  the  binding  and  sewing  had  all 
been  done  by  Aunt  Annie ;  but  the  materials 


MabeVs  New  Whim.  105 

had  been  furnished  from  Harry's  pocket- 
money,  and  the  portfolios  were  regarded  as 
the  most  princely  gifts,  and  treasured  with 
great  care. 

Within  were  "  proverb-pictures "  of  every 
variety  and  in  great  number,  also  many  a 
scrap  of  paper,  and — treasure  beyond  price! 
— whole  sheets  of  fool's-cap  for  future  use. 

One  of  these  last  Belle  drew  forth,  and  sit- 
ting up  in  her  bed  began  to  compose  anothei 
picture.  She  was  busy  with  it  till  Daphne 
took  her  up ;  and  even  while  the  old  woman 
was  dressing  her  she  kept  making  little 
rushes  at  it,  putting  in  a  touch  here  and  there 
till  she  had  it  finished  to  her  satisfaction. 

Mabel  did  not  come  to  breakfast  with  her 
uncle  and  cousin  that  morning,  but  chose  to 
take  it  with  her  mamma  in  her  own  room. 

So  little  Belle,  when  the  meal  was  over, 
asked  her  papa  if  she  might  go  to  her  cousin. 

"  No,  dear,  I  think  not,"  said  her  father. 
"  You  and  Mabel  are  better  apart." 

"  Oh,  no,  papa !  "   said  Belle ;   "  for  I   am 


io6  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

going  to  have  love-charity  for  Mabel,  and  ask 
her  to  have  some  for  me,  'cause  maybe  I 
need  a  little  too.  I  want  to  make  up  with 
her ;  and  here's  a  new  picture  for  her  that  I 
b'lieve  she  will  like  better  than  that  old, 
naughty  one  I  oughtn't  to  have  made  last 
night.     Can't  I  go  and  be  friends  ? " 

Her  father  examined  the  picture,  to  make 
sure  that  it  could  give  no  cause  for  new 
offence  ;  and,  satisfied  with  her  explanation, 
allowed  her  to  go  with  it  to  Mrs.  Walton's 
room. 

Belle  knocked,  and  being  told  to  come  in, 
obeyed.  Her  aunt  was  on  the  couch,  Mabel 
beside  her  playing  with  a  doll,  and  the  scowl 
and  pout  with  which  the  latter  greeted  her 
cousin  were  not  very  encouraging. 

But  Belle,  feeling  that  she  had  been  wrong 
herself,  was  determined  to  persevere  in  "  mak- 
ing up "  with  Mabel ;  and  she  said,  though 
rather  timidly,  — 

"I  made  you  another  proverb -picture, 
Mabel,  and"  — 


MabeVs  New  Whim,  107 

"  No,  no,"  said  Mrs.  Walton  before  she 
had  time  to  finish  her  speech :  "  we  have  had 
trouble  enough  with  your  '  proverb-pictures/ 
Belle :  you  and  Mabel  cannot  agree,  it  seems ; 
and  you  had  better  each  keep  to  your  own 
rooms." 

Belle  was  very  much  hurt,  although  she 
felt  this  was  partly  her  own  fault;  and  she 
turned  to  go  with  the  tears  in  her  eyes. 

When  Mrs.  Walton  saw  she  was  grieved, 
she  was  sorry  for  what  she  had  said ;  and  she 
called  to  the  child,  — 

"  Come  here  then,  Belle :  I  want  to  speak 
to  you." 

Belle  hesitated  a  moment,  holding  the  door- 
knob, and  twisting  it  back  and  forth ;  but  at 
last  she  ran  over  to  Mrs.  Walton's  side,  and 
put  her  hand  in  that  which  was  held  out  to 
her. 

"I'm  sorry  I  teased  Mabel,  Aunt  Fanny," 
she  said ;  "  and  I  didn't  make  this  picture 
for  a  lesson  to  her,  but  for  a  lesson  to  myself, 
and  to  let  her  see  I  did  want  to  make  up.     It's 


108  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

'most  all  about  me  doing  things  I  ought  to 
Mabel ;  and  I'm  going  to  try  to  have  love- 
charity,  and  do  'em." 

"  Let's  see,"  said  Mabel,  slipping  off  the 
couch  and  coming  to  her  cousin's  side,  curi- 
osity getting  the  better  of  her  resentment. 

Belle  spread  out  her  picture,  and  explained 
all  its  beauties  to  Mabel. 

"  That's  me,  with  ugly,  naughty  lips  like  I 
had  yesterday,  making  you,"  she  said  ;  "  and 
I  oughtn't  to  do  it  when  I  am  often  very 
spoiled  myself." 

"  No,"  said  Mabel,  gazing  with  rapt  interest 
upon  the  drawing,  and  already  considerably 
mollified  by  finding  that  Belle  put  her  own 
failings  also  in  her  "  proverb-pictures." 

"  But  I  don't  mean  to  do  it  any  more,  Mabel ; 
but  just  to  try  to  make  you  be  good  and  love 
me  by  living  good  my  own  self.  And  now 
there's  you  and  me  :  me  letting  you  have  my 
carved  animals,  and  not  being  mad  even  if  you 
broke  one  a  little  bit ;  but  you  wouldn't  if 
you  could  help  it,  would  you  ?  " 


Mabel's  New  Whim.  109 

"  No,  indeed,  I  wouldn't,"  said  Mabel,  very 
graciously :  'let's  be  friends  again,  Belle." 

So  the  quarrel  was  once  again  made  up, 
and  this  time  with  more  good  will  on  both 
sides. 

"  You  are  a  dear  child,"  said  Mrs.  Walton, 
and  she  looked  thoughtfully  and  lovingly  at 
the  warm-hearted  little  girl,  who,  when  she 
knew  she  had  been  wrong,  was  ready  to 
acknowledge  it,  and  to  try  to  make  amends ; 
"  and  Mabel  and  I  should  have  been  more  pa- 
tient with  you  in  the  beginning.  Poor  child  ! 
It  was  a  sad  thing  for  you  to  lose  your  mother 
so  early." 

"Oh!  I  didn't  lose  her,"  said  Belle, 
looking  up  in  her  aunt's  face  with  eyes  of 
innocent  surprise. 

"  How,  dear !  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  asked 
Mrs.  Walton,  wondering  in  her  turn.  "Your 
mamma  has  gone  away  from  you." 

"  Yes,  but  she  went  to  Jesus,"  answered  the 
child,  simply.  "  You  don't  lose  something 
when  you  know  it  is  in  a  very  safe,  happy 


no  Belle  Powers*  Locket, 

place  with  some  one  very  dear  and  good  to 
take  care  of  it,  even  if  you  can't  see  it  any 
more  :  do  you,  Aunt  Fanny  ?  " 

"  No,  I  suppose  not,"  said  Mrs.  Walton. 

"Well,  you  know  mamma  has  gone  to 
heaven  to  stay  with  Jesus,  and  He's  taking 
care  of  her ;  and  by  and  by  papa  and  I  will 
go  there  too,  and  then  we'll  see  her  again ;  so 
we  didn't  lose  her,  you  know.  But  then  I 
have  to  be  very  good  and  try  to  please  Jesus, 
and  mind  what  He  says  ;  and  so  I  know  He 
wants  me  to  have  love-charity  for  Mabel,  and 
try  to  not  care  very  much  if  she  does  things 
I  don't  like.  And  mamma  will  be  glad  too. 
Oh,  no,  Aunt  Fanny!  I  didn't  lose  my  dear 
mamma :  I  know  where  she  is,  all  safe." 

Mrs.  Walton  drew  her  to  her  and  kissed 
her ;  while  Mabel,  wondering  at  the  new  soft- 
ness and  sweetness  in  Belle's  face  and  voice, 
had  forgotten  the  picture  and  stood  looking  at 
her. 

"  All  safe !  " 

Five  little  graves  lay  side   by  side   in   an 


MaheVs  New  Whim,  in 

English  churchyard  far  away ;  and  of  those 
who  rested  beneath,  the  mother  had  always 
spoken  as  her  "lost  darlings."  She  never 
called  them  so  again  ;  for  were  they  not  "  all 
safe  "  ?  Others  had  told  her  the  same,  others 
had  tried  to  bring  comfort  to  her  grieving  and 
rebellious  heart ;  but  from  none  had  it  come 
with  such  simple,  unquestioning  faith  as  from 
the  innocent  lips  of  the  unconscious  little  one 
before  her.  Her  own  loved  ones,  as  well  as 
Belle's  dear  mother,  were  not  lost,  but 
"  all  safe." 

She  kissed  the  child  again,  this  time  with 
tears  in  her  eyes. 

"  You  see,"  continued  Belle,  encouraged  to 
fresh  confidence  by  the  new  kindness  of  her 
aunt's  manner,  —  "  you  see,  Aunt  Fanny,  that 
makes  another  reason  for  me  to  try  to  be 
good.  I  have  a  good  many  reasons  to  please 
Jesus  ;  'cause  dear  mamma  in  heaven  would 
want  me  to  be  good,  and  I  would  like  to  do 
what  she  wants  me  to,  even  more  when  she 
is  away  than  if  she  was  here ;  and  'cause  I 


H2  Belle  Pozverf  Locket. 

have  to  be  papa's  little  comfort.  That's 
what  he  always  says  I  am,  and  he  says  I  am 
his  sunbeam  too." 

"  I  think  I  must  call  you  that  too,  darling. 
You  have  brought  a  little  ray  of  sunshine  here 
this  morning." 

"  Maggie  says  when  we're  good  it's  always 
like  sunshine,  but  when  we're  naughty  it's 
like  ugly,  dark  clouds,"  said  Belle.  "  I'm 
sorry  I  was  a  cloud  yes'day,  and  that  other 
day,  Aunt  Fanny.  But  I  b'lieve  it's  time  for 
me  to  go  to  school  now." 

"  Bo  you  like  school  ? "  asked  Mrs.  Wal- 
ton. 

"  Oh,  I  guess  I  do  !  "  said  Belle.  "  Why,  you 
don't  know  what  nice  times  we  have !  and 
Miss  Ashton  is  so  kind." 

"  I  want  to  go  to  school  too,"  said  Mabel. 

"  Not  this  morning,  dear,"  said  her  mother. 

"  Yes,  I  shall,—  I  shall  too,  now!  If  Belle 
goes,  I  will.  I  shan't  stay  here  with  nobody 
to  play  with  me." 

Mrs.  Walton  coaxed  and  promised,  but   all 


Mabel's  New  Whim,  113 

to  no  purpose.  Mabel  was  determined  to 
see  for  herself  the  "  nice  times  "  which  Belle 
described:  school  suddenly  put  on  great 
attractions  for  her,  and  nothing  would  do 
but  that  she  must  go  at  once.  So,  taking  her 
by  the  hand,  Mrs.  Walton  followed  Belle  to 
Mr.  Powers'  parlor,  and  asked  him  what  he 
thought  of  Mabel's  new  whim. 

Now,  to  tell  the  truth,  Mr.  Powers  had 
believed  that  the  best  possible  thing  for  Mabel 
would  be  to  go  to  school,  and  be  under  the  firm 
but  gentle  rule  of  Miss  Ashton  ;  but  he  had 
not  yet  proposed  it  to  her  mother,  knowing 
that  the  mere  mention  of  it  from  another 
person  would  be  quite  enough  to  make  the 
froward  child  declare  she  would  never  go. 
Therefore  he  thought  well  of  Mabel's  wish, 
although  he  was  not  prepared  to  take  Miss 
Ashton  by  surprise  on  this  very  morning. 

But  he  knew  there  was  one  vacancy  in  her 

little    school,    and  that    she  would    probably 

consent  to  let  Mabel  fill  it ;  and  he  thought 

it  was  best  to  take  advantage  of  the  little  girl's 
8 


1 14  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

sudden  fancy,  or,  as  Maggie  Bradford  would 
have  said,  to  "  strike  while  the  iron  was 
hot." 

Accordingly  he  told  his  sister  that  he  would 
himself  walk  to  school  with  the  two  children, 
and  learn  what  Miss  Ashton  had  to  say  on  the 
matter ;  and  Mabel,  being  made  ready  with  all 
speed,  set  forth  with  her  uncle  and  cousin. 

Miss  Ashton  agreed  to  take  the  new-comer ; 
and  Mabel  was  at  once  put  into  the  seat  for- 
merly occupied  by  Bessie  Bradford.  Maggie 
and  Bessie  had  belonged  to  Miss  Ashton's 
class ;  but  their  mother  taught  them  at  home 
now. 

Belle  could  not  help  a  little  sigh  and  one  or 
two  longing  thoughts  as  she  remembered  her 
dear  Bessie  who  had  formerly  sat  beside  her 
there,  but  she  did  not  say  a  word  of  her  re- 
gret to  Mabel. 

Mabel  behaved  as  well  as  possible  during 
the  whole  of  school-time ;  whether  it  was  that 
she  was  well  amused,  or  that  she  was  some- 
what awed  by  the  novelty  of  the  scene,  and 


MabeVs  New  Whim.  115 

all  the  new  faces  about  her,  certainly  neither 
Miss  Ashton  nor  Belle  had  the  least  cause  of 
complaint  against  her  when  the  time  came 
for  school  to  be  dismissed. 

And  this  good  mood  continued  all  that  day, 
with  one  or  two  small  exceptions.  It  is  true 
that  on  more  than  one  of  these  occasions 
there  might  have  been  serious  trouble  between 
the  little  cousins,  but  for  Belle's  persevering 
good-humor  and  patience ;  and  she  would 
have  thought  herself  "  pretty  naughty,"  if  she 
had  behaved  as  Mabel  did.  But  she  excused 
and  bore  with  her,  because  it  was  Mabel  for 
whom  she  was  to  have  that  charity  which 
"  suffereth  long  and  is  kind." 

It  was  hard  work  too  for  little  Belle ;  for, 
though  naturally  more  generous  and  amiable 
than  her  cousin,  she  was  pretty  much  accus- 
tomed to  having  her  own  way  in  all  things 
reasonable.  At  home  her  every  wish  was  law 
with  her  papa  and  nurse  ;  Maggie  and  Bessie 
Bradford  could  not  do  enough  to  show  their 
love  and  sympathy ;  and  all  her  young  play- 


n6  Belle  Powers^  Locket. 

fellows  and  school-mates  followed  their  exam- 
ple, and  petted  and  gave  way  to  her  "  because 
she  had  no  mother."  So  "  giving  up  "  was 
rather  a  new  thing  for  Belle,  not  because  she 
was  selfish,  but  because  she  was  seldom  called 
upon  to  do  it. 

However,  she  had  her  reward ;  for,  thanks 
to  her  own  sweetness  and  good  temper,  there 
was  peace  and  sunshine  throughout  the  day. 
She  saw  that  her  father  and  aunt  were  pleased 
with  her ;  and  once  even  Mabel,  seeming 
touched  and  ashamed  when  Belle  had  quietly 
yielded  her  own  rights,  turned  around  in  a 
sudden  and  unwonted  fit  of  penitence,  and 
said,  — 

"  There,  take  it,  Belle :  you  had  the  best 
right;  and  I  won't  be  mean  to  you  again, 
'cause  you're  real  good  to  me." 

"  My  darling  has  been  such  a  good  girl  to- 
day !  "  said  Mr.  Powers,  as  he  took  her  on  his 
knee  when  they  were  alone,  and  she  came  for 
the  little  talk  they  generally  had  before  her 
bed-time :   "  she  has  been  trying  to  practise 


MabeVs  New  Whim.  117 

the  lesson  she  learned  last  night,  and  so  has 
made  all  about  her  happy." 

"  And  been  a  little  sunbeam,  papa,  have 
I?" 

"  Yes,  indeed,  love,  —  a  true  sunbeam." 
"  And  did  I  make  you  pleased,  papa  ?  " 
"  Very   much    pleased,   and    truly    happy, 
dear." 

"  And  mamma  will  be  pleased  too,  papa ; 
and  mamma's  Jesus ;  and  it  makes  Him  my 
Jesus  when  I  try  to  be  His  sunbeam  and  shine 
for  Him,  don't  it  ?  I  guess  everybody  would 
be  a  sunbeam  if  they  always  had  c  love-char- 
ity.' Tell  me  it  over  again,  papa,  so  I  will 
remember  it  very  well,  and  s'plain  to  me  a 
little  more  about  it." 


VIII. 

THE  LOCKET. 

jjND  this  really  proved  the  beginning 
of  better  things  for  Mabel.  Not  that 
she  improved  so  much  all  at  once,  or 
that  she  was  not  often  selfish,  perverse,  and 
disobedient ;  or  that  she  did  not  often  try 
little  Belle  very  much,  and  make  it  hard  for 
her  to  keep  her  resolution  of  being  kind  and 
patient.  Nor  must  it  be  supposed  that  Belle 
always  kept  to  this  resolution,  or  that  she  and 
Mabel  did  not  now  and  then  have  some  pretty 
sharp  quarrels  ;  still,  on  the  whole,  they  agreed 
better  than  had  seemed  probable  on  their  first 
meeting. 

And  perhaps  it  was  good  for  Belle,  as  well 


The  Locket.  119 

as  for  Mabel,  that  she  should  sometimes  be 
obliged  to  give  up  her  own  will  to  another ; 
and  there  was  no  fear,  while  her  papa  and  old 
Daphne  were  there  to  watch  over  her  interests, 
that  she  would  be  suffered  to  be  too  much  im- 
posed upon. 

But  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  Mabel  was 
less  unruly  and  exacting.  It  might  be  that 
she  was  really  happier  with  a  companion  of 
her  own  age,  or  that  she  was  shamed  by 
Belle's  example  and  kindness  to  her,  or  per- 
haps it  was  both  these  causes  ;  but  day  by 
day  Belle  found  it  easier  to  be  on  good  terms 
with  her,  and  the  two  children  were  really 
growing  fond  of  one  another. 

Other  things  which  had  a  good  effect  on 
Mabel  were  going  to  school  and  being  now  and 
then  with  Maggie  and  Bessie.  She  could  not 
but  see  how  much  happier  and  lovelier  were 
those  children  who  were  obedient,  gentle,  and 
kind ;  and  she  learned  much  that  was  good 
without  any  direct  teaching.  And  even  the 
"  proverb-pictures  "  became  to  her  what  they 


120  Belle  Powers'  Locket* 

were  intended  to  be  to  all,  a  source  of  im- 
provement ;  for  Maggie  understood  better 
than  Belle  the  art  of  "  giving  a  lesson  "  with- 
out wounding  the  feelings  ;  and  many  a  gentle 
reproof  or  wise  hint  was  conveyed  to  Mabel 
by  means  of  these  moral  sketches,  in  which 
she  really  took  a  great  interest. 

After  the  first  novelty  of  school  had  worn 
off,  Mabel  tired  of  the  restraint  and  declared 
that  she  would  go  no  more ;  but  in  the  mean 
time  her  father  had  arrived,  and  he  insisted 
that  she  should  keep  on. 

For  some  days  after  this  she  gave  Miss 
Ashton  a  good  deal  of  trouble,  and  set  at  de- 
fiance many  of  her  rules  and  regulations ; 
but  she  soon  found  that  this  did  her  no  ser- 
vice, for  Miss  Ashton,  gentle  as  she  was, 
would  be  obeyed ;  and  Mabel  did  not  find  the 
solitude  of  the  cloak-room  agreeable  when  she 
was  punished  by  being  sent  there,  and  con 
eluded  that,  "  after  all,  she  had  the  best  time 
when  she  was  good." 

She  was  not  at  all  a  favorite  with  her  school- 


The  Locket.  121 

mates,  —  this  fractious  and  self-willed  little 
child  ;  and  Belle  had  to  "  take  her  part  "  and 
coax  a  good  deal  before  she  could  persuade 
them  to  regard  her  with  any  patience,  or  to 
feel  willing  to  accept  her  as  a  member  of  their 
circle. 

"  What  have  you  there  ?  "  asked  Mabel  one 
day,  coming  into  Belle's  nursery  and  finding 
her  looking  lovingly  at  some  small  object  she 
held  in  her  hand. 

"  It's  my  locket,  —  my  new  locket  that 
papa  gave  me  a  few  minutes  ago,"  answered 
Belle. 

"  Let's  see  it,"  said  Mabel,  making  a  grasp 
at  it ;  but  Belle  was  too  quick  for  her,  and 
would  not  suffer  her  to  seize  her  treasure. 

"  You  can't  have  it  in  your  own  hands," 
she  said  ;  "  for  it  was  my  own  mamma's,  and  I 
don't  want  any  one  to  touch  it,  'cept  they 
loved  her.  Only  Maggie  and  Bessie,"  she 
added,  remembering  that  they  had  never  known 
her  mother,  but  that  she  would  by  no  means 
keep  the  choicest  of  her  treasures  from  their 


122  Belle  Powers^  Locket. 

hands,  feeling  sure  as  she  did  that  they  would 
guard  what  was  precious  to  her  with  as  much 
care  as  she  would  herself. 

"  I'll  show  it  to  you,  Mabels  Isn't  it  pret- 
ty ?  "  and  Belle  held  up  a  small  locket  on  a 
slight  gold  chain. 

It  was  a  little,  old-fashioned  thing,  heart- 
shaped,  and  made  of  fretted  gold  with  a  for- 
get-me-not of  turquoises  in  the  centre.  It 
was  very  pretty,  —  in  Belle's  eyes,  of  the  most 
perfect  beauty  ;  but  its  great  value  lay  in  that 
it  had  belonged,  as  she  told  Mabel,  to  her  own 
mamma  when  she  was  a  girl. 

It  was  one  of  Belle's  greatest  pleasures  to 
sit  upon  her  papa's  knee  and  turn  over  with 
loving,  reverent  fingers  the  various  articles  of 
jewelry  which  had  once  been  her  mother's, 
and^hich  were  to  be  hers  when  she  should 
be  of  a  proper  age  to  have  them  and  take 
care  of  them.  "  Mamma's  pretty  things " 
were  a  source  of  great  enjoyment  to  her ;  and 
although  Belle  loved  dress  as  much  as  any 
little  girl  of  her  age,  it  was  with  no  thought 


Belle  Powers. 


p.  122. 


The  Locket.  123 

of  decking  herself  in  them,  but  simply  for 
their  own  beauty  and  the  sake  of  the  dear 
one  who  had  once  worn  them,  that  they 
were  so  prized.  And  now  and  then  when 
her  papa  gave  her  some  trifle  suitable  for  her5 
she  seldom  wore  it,  so  fearful  would  she  be  of 
losing  it,  or  lest  other  harm  should  come  to  it. 
So  now,  as  things  were  apt  to  come  to  harm 
in  Mabel's  destructive  fingers,  she  was  very 
much  afraid  of  trusting  the  precious  locket 
within  them ;  and  stoutly,  though  not  crossly, 
refused  to  let  her  have  it. 

Mabel  begged  and  promised,  whined  and 
fretted ;  but  the  locket  was  still  held  beyond 
her  reach,  till  at  last  she  made  a  dive  and  had 
nearly  snatched  it  from  Belle's  hold. 

But  Daphne's  eye  was  upon  her,  and 
Daphne's  hand  pulled  her  back  as  the  old 
woman  said, — 

"Hi!  dere!  none  ob  dat,  Miss  Mabel.  I 
ain't  goin  fur  see  my  ole  missus'  tings  took 
from  my  young  missus,  and  me  by  to  help  it.  I 
ain't  goin  fur  stan'  dat,  no  way,"  and  Daphne's 


124  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

grasp  was  rougher  than  it  need  to  have  been 
as  she  held  back  the  angry,  struggling  Mabel. 

The  child  was  in  a  great  passion :  she 
struck  wildly  at  the  nurse,  and  screamed 
aloud,  so  that  her  mother  came  running  to 
see  what  was  the  matter. 

"  There  then,  never  mind,"  said  Mrs.  Wal- 
ton, as  Mabel,  released  from  Daphne's  hold, 
rushed  to  her  and  complained  that  Belle 
would  not  let  her  touch  her  new  locket, — 
"  never  mind,  I  will  give  you  something  pretty 
to  look  at. 

"  I  want  a  locket  like  Belle's  to  keep  for 
my  own,"  said  Mabel ;  "  and  then  I'll  never 
let  her  see  it." 

"  Pooh !  I  wouldn't  look  at  it,"  said  Belle, 
forgetting  all  her  good  resolves,  "  if  you 
showed  it  to  me.  I'd  just  squeeze  my  eyes 
tight  shut,  and  never  open  them  till  you  took 
it  away.  And  I  don't  b'lieve  the  man  in  the 
locket-store  has  any  like  this." 

But  Mabel  had  hardly  left  the  room  with 
her  mother  before  Belle  was  sorry,  as  usual, 


The  Locket.  125 

for  the  anger  she  had  shown,  and  said  re- 
morsefully to  Daphne,  — 

"  There  now,  I  went  and  forgot  the  Bible 
proverb  papa  gave  me,  and  didn't  give  *  a 
soft  answer '  to  turn  away  Mabel's  wrath, 
but  just  spoke  as  cross  as  any  thing,  and  was 
real  naughty.  I'll  just  run  after  her,  and  let 
her  touch  my  locket  very  carefully  with  her 
own  hands." 

And  away  she  went,  ready  to  make  peace, 
even  by  doing  that  which  was  not  pleasant  to 
her ;  but  the  dear  little  thing  was  only  partly 
successful,  for  as  Maggie  afterwards  said, 
when  Belle  told  her  the  story,  u  Mabel  was  of 
that  kind  of  nature  that  if  you  gave  her  an 
inch  she  took  an  ell ; "  and  no  sooner  did 
Belle  let  her  have  the  locket  in  her  own  hands 
than  she  wanted  to  have  it  about  her  neck 
and  wear  it.  This  was  too  much,  even  for 
the  little  peace-maker:  she  could  not  make 
up  her  mind  to  give  way  in  this,  nor,  indeed, 
could  she  have  been  expected  to  do  so  ;  and 
quiet  was  not  restored  till   Mabel's   mother 


126  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

was  worried  into  taking  her  out  at  once  in 
search  of  such  a  locket  as  Belle's. 

But  the  search  proved  quite  fruitless,  for 
no  locket  exactly  like  Belle's  could  be  found ; 
and  Mabel  would  not  be  satisfied  with  one 
that  was  different.  In  vain  did  she  and  her 
mother  go  from  jeweller's  to  jeweller's ;  in 
vain  did  Mrs.  Walton  offer  the  spoiled  child 
lockets  far  more  showy  and  costly  than  the 
one  on  which  she  had  set  her  heart ;  in  vain 
did  the  shopman  assure  her  that  such  as  she 
desired  were  "  quite  out  of  the  fashion,"  an 
argument  which  generally  went  a  good  way 
with  Mabel :  one  just  like  Belle's  she  would 
have. 

"  Then  we  will  have  one  made,"  said  Mrs. 
Walton ;  and  inquired  when  it  could  be  fin- 
ished. But  when  the  jeweller  said  it  would 
take  a  week  or  more,  neither  would  this 
satisfy  the  naughty  child,  who  was  in  a  mood 
that  was  uncommonly  perverse  and  obstinate 
even  for  her. 

"I  shall  have  one  to-day,"  she  repeated; 


The  Locket.  127 

and  was  so  very  troublesome  that  e^en  the 
patience  of  her  mistaken  and  spoiling  mother 
at  last  gave  way,  and  the  jeweller  heartily 
wished  himself  rid  of  such  a  noisy,  ill-behaved 
customer. 

However,  Mrs.  Walton  gave  the  order,  and 
promised  to  bring  Belle's  locket  for  the  jew- 
eller to  see  the  pattern  on  Monday,  this  being 
Saturday ;  and  then  returned  home  with  her 
naughty  child. 

Belle  had  gone  out,  —  gone  to  Mrs.  Brad- 
ford's to  spend  the  day  with  Maggie  and 
Bessie,  as  she  always  did  on  Saturday ;  and 
Mabel  was  left  to  whine  and  fret  by  herself 
till  evening. 

This  gave  her  fresh  cause  of  displeasure  : 
she  was  vexed  at  her  cousin  for  leaving  her 
alone,  and  when  Belle  returned  she  was 
greeted  with, — 

"  Mamma  is  going  to  take  your  locket 
away  from  you  on  Monday,  and  take  it  to 
the  locket-man  to  make  me  one  just  like  it  " 

"  No,"   said  Belle,  backing  from  Mabel  to 


128  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

her  father's  knee,  and  holding  fast  with  one 
hand  clasped  over  the  other  upon  the  beloved 
locket,  as  if  she  feared  it  was  to  be  snatched 
from  her  at  once. 

"  You'll  let  me  take  it  to  the  jeweller  for  a 
pattern,  dear :  won't  you  ? "  said  her  aunt. 
"  Mabel  wants  one  just  like  it." 

Belle  shook  her  head. 

"  No,  Aunt  Fanny,"  she  answered :  "  I 
couldn't.  It  was  my  own  mamma's,  and  I 
couldn't  let  it  go  from  me  ;  and  I  don't  want 
anybody  to  have  one  just  like  it." 

She  did  not  speak  unkindly  or  pettishly, 
but  with  a  quiet  determination  in  her  tone, 
such  as  she  sometimes  showed,  and  which  in 
some  cases  might  seem  to  be  obstinacy.  But 
it  was  not  so  now ;  and  it  was  evident  that  the 
child  had  some  deep  and  earnest  reason  for 
her  refusal,  —  a  feeling  that  the  little  treasure 
which  had  belonged  to  her  mamma  had  some- 
thing so  dear  and  sacred  about  it,  that  it  could 
not  be  suffered  to  pass  into  strange  hands, 
even  for  a  time ;  nor  could  she  bear  to  have 
it  copied. 


The  Locket,  129 

"The  locket-man  didn't  know  my  own 
mamma,  Aunt  Fanny,"  she  answered  again 
to  her  aunt's  persuasions :  "  maybe  he 
wouldn't  be  so  very  gently  with  it.  I  couldn't, 
—  I  really  couldn't." 

Tears  gathered  in  the  eyes  of  the  sensitive 
little  one  as  she  spoke,  and  there  was  a  piteous 
tremble  of  her  lip  which  forbade  her  aunt  to 
urge  her  farther ;  but  Mabel  was  not  to  be  so 
put  off. 

"  You  cannot  have  it,  Mabel,"  said  Mr. 
Powers.  "  I  will  not  have  Belle  troubled  in 
this  matter." 

«  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Walton,  looking 
up  from  his  evening  paper,  to  which  he  had 
until  now  given  all  his  attention,  too  much 
accustomed  to  the  fretful  tones  of  his  little 
daughter's  voice  to  pay  heed  to  them  when  he 
could  avoid  it. 

The  trouble  was  soon  explained ;  and  Mr. 
Walton,  who  had  lately  awakened  to  the  fact 
that  his  Mabel  had  become  a  most  trouble- 
some and  disagreeable  child,  and  that  it  was 


130  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

time  for  her  to  learn  that  she  must  sometimes 
give  up  her  own  will  and  consider  others,  told 
her  that  she  must  think  no  more  of  this  new 
whim  ;  and  that  if  she  could  not  be  contented 
with  such  a  locket  as  he  might  choose  for  her 
on  Monday,  she  should  have  none  at  all. 

"  Then  I  won't  have  any  at  all,"  said  Mabel, 
passionately.  "  And  I  won't  eat  any  break- 
fast or  dinner  or  supper,  not  for  any  days." 

"  Just  as  you  choose,"  said  Mr.  Walton, 
coolly  taking  up  his  paper  and  beginning  to 
read  again ;  while  his  wife  looked  pleadingly 
at  him,  but  to  no  purpose ;  and  Belle  sat  gaz- 
ing in  amazement  at  the  child  who  dared  to 
speak  in  such  a  way  to  her  father.  Indulgent 
as  Mr.  Powers  always  was  to  his  motherless 
little  girl,  she  knew  very  well  that  he  never 
would  have  overlooked  such  disrespect  as  that, 
nor  could  she  have  believed  it  possible  that 
she  should  ever  be  guilty  of  it. 

Astonishment  and  indignation  at  this  novel 
mode  of  treatment  held  Mabel  speechless 
and  quiet  for  a  moment ;  then  she  set  up  a 


The  Locket.  131 

roar  which  would  have  been  surprising  as 
coming  from  so  small  a  pair  of  lungs,  to  any- 
one who  had  not  known  her  powers  in  that 
particular. 

But  here  again  Mr.  Walton,  who,  as  Belle 
afterwards  told  her  papa,  seemed  to  be  dis- 
posed to  "turn  over  a  new  leaf  about  training 
up  Mabel  in  the  way  she  should  go,"  inter- 
fered, and  bade  her  go  from  the  room,  or  be 
quiet. 

She  chose  neither;  and  the  matter  ended 
by  her  father  himself  carrying  her  away,  and 
giving  orders  that  she  should  be  put  to  bed. 

Belle  was  very  sorry  for  all  this,  and  could 
not  help  feeling  as  if  she  somehow  was  to 
blame,  although  the  matter  of  the  locket  was 
one  too  near  her  little  heart  to  bo  given  up. 
But  she  went  to  her  uncle  when  her  own  bed- 
time came,  and  begged  that  she  might  go  and 
wish  Mabel  good-night,  and  be  friends  with 
her  once  more. 

But  Mr.  Walton  thought  it  better,  as  did 
Belle's  own  papa,  that  the  wilful  child  should 


132 


Belle  Powers'  Locket. 


be  left  to  herself  till  the  next  day ;    and  he 
dismissed  Belle  with  a  kind  kiss,  saying,  — 

"  Mabel  will  feel  better  in  the  morning, 
dear,  and  then  she  will  be  ready  to  make 
friends  with  you ;  but  just  now  I  am  afraid 
she  is  still  too  naughty  to  meet  you  pleas- 
antly." 


IX. 


BELLE'S  MISFORTUNE. 


R.  WALTON  was  sadly  mistaken 
when  he  thought  that  his  little  girl 
would  have  forgotten  her  ill-temper 
and  be  ready  to  be  pleasant  and  good-humored 
in  the  morning.  Mabel  awoke  sulky  and 
pouting,  quite  determined  to  believe  that  Belle 
had  grievously  injured  her,  and  obstinately 
refusing  to  be  reconciled  unless  she  would 
consent  to  give  up  the  locket. 

Had  Belle  been  willing  to  do  this,  her  papa 
and  uncle  would  not  have  permitted  it ;  but, 
though  Mabel  was  in  a  state  of  displeasure 
with  the  world  in  general  that  morning,  she 


134  Belle  Power  £  Locket. 

chose  to  consider  Belle  as  chief  offender,  and 
treated  her  accordingly. 

"  But  it's  Sunday,"  said  Belle,  when  she 
refused  to  kiss  her  for  good-morning. 

"  Don't  I  know  that  ?  "    snapped  Mabel. 

"  But  I  don't  like  to  be  cross  with  any  one 
on  Sunday,"  pleaded  Belle. 

"  You're  cross  to  me,  and  so  I'll  be  cross 
with  you,  —  Sunday  and  Monday  and  every 
day,"  said  the  disagreeable  child.  "  Now 
leave  me  be." 

And  Belle,  seeing  that  Mabel  was  not  to  be 
persuaded  into  a  better  temper,  was  forced  to 
do  as  she  said,  and  let  her  alone. 

And  all  day,  Sunday  though  it  was,  Mabel 
was  even  more  peevish,  exacting,  and  trouble- 
some than  usual,  till  she  was  a  burden  and 
torment  to  herself  and  every  one  about  her. 

When  Monday  morning  came  she  was  rather 
more  reasonable,  but  still  persisted  in  being 
"offended"  with  Belle,  and  even  refused  to 
walk  on  the  same  side  of  the  street  with  her 
when  they  were  going  to  school. 


Bellas  Misfortune.  135 

"  Will  you  wear  your  new  locket,  Miss 
Belle  ?  "  asked  Daphne  when  she  was  making 
her  little  mistress  ready  for  school. 

"  No,  I  guess  not,"  said  Belle  :  "  something 
might  happen  to  it,  and  maybe  it's  too  nice." 

"  I  reckon  it's  not  too  fancy,"  said  Daphne, 
holding  up  the  locket  and  looking  at  it  admir- 
ingly :  "  you  may  wear  it  if  you  like,  and 
mebbe  Miss  Ashton  would  like  to  see  it." 

Now  the  locket  was  perhaps  not  quite  a 
proper  thing  for  Belle  to  wear  to  school,  and 
had  her  father  been  there  he  might  have 
advised  her  to  keep  to  her  first  decision  ;  but 
Daphne  always  liked  to  deck  out  her  little 
lady  in  all  the  finery  she  could  lay  her  hands 
on,  and,  had  she  not  been  held  in  check  by 
wiser  heads,  would  often  have  sent  her  fortli 
to  school  in  very  improper  guise.  And  as 
Mabel  was  always  very  much  dressed,  it  chafed 
Daphne  sorely  to  contrast  the  simple  but  more 
suitable  garments  of  her  little  Miss  Belle 
with  the  showy  ones  worn  by  her   cousin. 

So  now  she  persuaded  Belle  to  wear  the 


136  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

locket,  saying,  not  to  the  child,  but  to  herself, 
that  it  "  was  time  folks  foim'  out  her  folks  was 
wort  something  an'  had  plenty  of  pretty  things 
if  they  on'y  chose  to  show  'em  ;  "  and,  rather 
against  the  child's  own  better  judgment,  she 
suffered  the  nurse  to  put  the  locket  about  her 
neck. 

It  was  well  for  Belle,  and  for  those  who  had 
the  guiding  of  her,  that  she  was  such  a  docile 
little  girl,  generally  willing  and  anxious  to  do 
that  which  she  believed  to  be  right,  or  she 
might  have  been  sadly  injured  by  the  spoiling 
of  her  devoted  but  foolish  old  nurse.  As  it 
was,  it  did  not  do  her  much  harm  ;  and 
Daphne  often  felt  herself  put  to  shame  by  the 
little  one's  uprightness  and  good  sense. 

However,  011  this  morning  Daphne  had  her 
way ;  and,  as  I  have  said,  the  locket  was  put 
on. 

As  might  have  been  supposed,  the  new  orna- 
ment immediately  attracted  the  attention  of 
all  Belle's  class-mates ;  and  they  crowded 
about  her  before  school  opened,  to  examine 


Belle's  Misfortune.  137 

and  admire,  with  many  un  "  oh !  "  and  "  ah !  " 
"  how  lovely  !  "    and  "  how  sweet !  " 

"  Mabel,  have  you  one  too  ?  "  asked  Dora 
Johnson  ;  for  the  children  had  found  out  by 
this  time  that  if  Belle  had  a  pretty  thing, 
Mabel  was  sure  to  have  one  also. 

"  I'm  going  to,"  said  Mabel,  "  one  just  like 
it :  you  see  if  I  don't ;  even  if  that  cross-patch 
won't  let  the  man  have  it  to  pattern  off  of. 
She  thinks  herself  so  great  nobody  can  have 
a  locket  like  hers." 

"  Belle's  not  a  cross-patch,"  said  Lily  Nor- 
ris  ;  "  and,  Mabel,  if  you  talk  that  way  about 
her,  we  won't  be  friends  with  you,  not  any  of 
the  class.  Belle's  old  in  the  class,  and  you're 
new ;  and  we  don't  think  so  very  much  of 
you.     So  you'd  better  look  out." 

Mabel  and  Lily  were  always  at  swords' 
points;  for  Lily  was  saucy  and  outspoken, 
very  fond  of  Belle,  and  always  upholding  her 
rights,  or  what  she  considered  such. 

"  Belle's  real  selfish,"  muttered  Mabel ; 
"  and  you  shan't  talk  to  me  that  way,  Lily." 


138  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

"  God  gave  me  my  tongue  for  my  own,  and 
I  keep  it  for  just  what  words  I  choose  to  say," 
said  Lily,  losing  both  temper  and  grammar  in 
her  indignation  ;  "  and  Belle's  not  selfish,  but 
you ;  and  most  always  when  peoples  is  self- 
ish themselves,  they  think  other  ones  are  that 
ain't.     That's  the  kind  that  you're  of,  Mabel." 

"  Now  don't  let's  quarrel,"  said  Nellie  Ran- 
som, the  prudent ;  "  else  Miss  Ashton  will 
come,  and  send  us  to  our  seats." 

"  But,  Belle,  dear,"  said  Dora,  "  what's  the 
reason  you  don't  want  Mabel  to  have  a  locket 
like  yours  ?  " 

Belle  told  her  story  ;  and  very  naturally 
the  sympathies  of  all  her  class-mates  went 
with  her,  and  Mabel  was  speedily  made  to  see 
that  she  was  thought  to  be  altogether  in  the 
wrong,  which  did  not  tend  to  restore  her  to 
good  humor. 

"  I  shall  take  it  to  the  locket-man  for  a 
pattern,"  she  said  angrily:  "  you  see  if  I 
don't.     I'll  get  it,  ah-ha." 

"  No,  you  won't,"  said  Lily.    "  Belle  knows 


Bellas  Misfortune.  139 

you.  She'll  take  good  enough  care  of  it ;  and 
just  you  try  to  snatch  it  now." 

What  would  follow  if  she  did,  Lily  plainly 
expressed  in  the  threatening  shake  of  the 
head  with  which  she  accompanied  her  words. 

Farther  quarrelling  or  unkind  threats  were 
prevented  by  the  entrance  of  Miss  Ashton, 
who  called  her  little  class  to  order,  and  school 
was  opened, 

Miss  Ashton  had  more  trouble  with  Mabel 
that  morning  than  she  had  had  any  day  since 
she  first  came  to  school.  She  was  pettish 
and  fretful  beyond  all  reason ;  elbowed  and 
crowded  the  other  children,  pouted  over  her 
lessons,  and  was  disrespectful  to  her  teacher, 
and  once  broke  into  such  a  roar  that  Mrs. 
Ashton  hastily  opened  the  doors  between  the 
two  rooms  and  inquired  into  the  cause  of  the 
trouble.  This  soon  hushed  Mabel's  screams  ; 
for  the  elder  lady's  looks  were  rather  stern 
and  severe,  and  she  at  least  was  one  person 
of  whom  the  wilful  child  stood  in  wholesome 
dread. 


140  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

But  though  quiet  was  restored  for  a  time, 
it  was  not  to  last  long  ;  and  this  seemed  des- 
tined to  be  a  day  of  trouble,  all  through 
Mabel's  naughtiness.  Miss  Ashton  called  up 
the  arithmetic  class  ;  and  as  they  stood  about 
her  desk,  she  saw  Mabel  and  Lily  elbowing 
one  another  with  all  their  might,  —  the  former 
cross  and  scowling,  the  latter  looking  defiant 
and  provoking,  and  still  half  good-humored 
too. 

"  Children!  Lily  and  Mabel!  What  are 
you  doing  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Can't  Mabel  keep  her  elbow  out  of  my 
part  of  the  air,  Miss  Ashton  ?  "  said  Lily. 

"  For  shame  !  "  said  the  lady  :  "  two  little 
girls  quarrelling  about  such  a  trifle  as 
that." 

"  But,  Miss  Ashton,"  pleaded  Lily,  "  she 
sticks  me  so !  She  oughtn't  to  take  up  any 
more  room  than  that ; "  and  she  measured 
with  her  hand  the  portion  of  empty  space 
which  according  to  her  ideas  rightfully  be- 
longed to  Mabel ;   while  the  latter,  conscious 


Belle's  Misfortune.  141 

that  she  had  been  wilfully  trespassing,  had 
nothing  to  say. 

"  I  am,, sorry  that  my  little  scholars  cannot 
agree,"  said  Miss  Ashton.  "  Mabel,  stand 
back  a  little,  and  keep  your  elbows  down,  my 
dear.  If  you  cannot  behave  better,  I  shall  be 
forced  to  send  you  into  the  other  room  to  my 
mother ;  and  all  the  young  ladies  there  will 
know  you  have  been  naughty. " 

To  be  sent  into  Mrs.  Ashton  in  disgrace 
was  thought  a  terrible  punishment ;  and  Miss 
Ashton  had  never  yet  had  to  put  it  in  prac- 
tice :  the  mere  mention  of  it  was  generally 
enough  to  bring  the  naughtiest  child  to  good 
behavior,  and  it  was  a  threat  she  seldom  used. 
But  she  knew  that  the  solitude  of  the  cloak- 
room had  quite  lost  its  effect  on  Mabel,  and 
felt  that  some  stronger  measures  must  be 
taken  if  there  was  to  be  any  peace  that 
day. 

Mabel  obeyed ;  but  in  spite  of  the  threat- 
ened punishment,  her  temper  so  far  got  the 
better  of  her  that  she  could  not  resist  giving 


142  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

Lily  a  parting  thrust  with  her  elbow,  —  a 
thrust  so  hard  that  Lily's  slate  was  knocked 
from  her  hand  and  fell  upon  the  floor,  where 
it  broke  into  three  or  four  pieces. 

Now,  indeed,  Mabel  was  frightened ;  and 
the  other  children  stood  almost  breathless, 
waiting  for  what  Miss  Ashton  would  say  and 
do. 

She  said  nothing;  what  she  did  was  to 
rise  quickly,  take  Mabel  by  the  hand  and  turn 
to  lead  her  to  the  other  room. 

Dreading  she  hardly  knew  what,  Mabel  was 
still  too  thoroughly  terrified  at  the  prospect 
before  her  to  rebel  any  farther,  or  to  do  more 
than  gasp  out,  — 

"  Oh  !  Miss  Ashton  !  I  won't  do  so  any 
more  !     I  didn't  mean  to  !     I  will  be  good !  " 

Miss  Ashton  did  not  answer,  but  drew  her 
on  ;  when  Belle,  dropping  her  own  slate  beside 
Lily's,  sprang  forward  and  laid  her  hand  on 
her  teacher,  looking  up  with  eyes  as  appealing 
as  Mabel's. 

"  Please  excuse  her  this  time,  Miss  Ash- 


Belle's  Misfortune.  143 

ton,"  she  exclaimed.  "  I  don't  think  she  did 
mean  to  break  Lily's  slate.  She  only  meant 
to  joggle  her,  and  the  slate  fell  out  of  her 
hand  ;  but  I  don't  believe  she  meant  to  do  it. 
Try  her  just  this  once,  dear  Miss  Ashton  : 
maybe  she  will  be  good." 

Miss  Ashton  looked  down  at  the  little 
pleader  and  hesitated.  Truth  to  tell,  she  had 
not  known  how  terrible  a  bugbear  her  mother 
was  to  her  young  flock:  she  was  sorry  now 
that  she  saw  they  had  such  a  dread  of  her, 
and  perhaps  was  ready  to  seize  upon  an  ex- 
cuse to  relent  and  withdraw  her  threat. 

"  Oh  !  I  will,  I  will  be  good !  I'll  never  do 
so  any  more  !  "  sobbed  Mabel. 

Miss  Ashton  turned  about,  and  taking  her 
seat  placed  Mabel  in  front  of  her. 

"Very  well,"  she  said.  "I  will  excuse 
you  this  once  ;  not  because  you  do  not  deserve 
punishment,  Mabel,  but  because  Belle  begs 
for  you.  But  remember  it  is  for  this  one 
time.  If  you  behave  again  as  you  have 
done  this  morning,  I  shall  certainly  punish 


144  Belle  Powers^  Locket. 

you.  And  you  must  stand  there  now  and 
say  your  lesson  apart  from  the  other  chil- 
dren." 

Relieved  from  the  dread  of  going  to  Mrs. 
Ashton,  Mabel  did  not  so  very  much  mind 
that,  or  the  cold,  displeased  glances  of  the 
rest  of  the  class ;  but  as  she  took  her  place, 
she  cast  a  grateful  look  over  at  Belle,  to 
whom  she  truly  felt  she  owed  her  escape  ;  and 
Belle  felt  quite  repaid  for  the  "  love-charity  " 
which  had  helped  her  to  forget  and  forgive 
Mabel's  unkind  behavior  to  herself,  and  to 
plead  for  her. 

But  the  troubles  which  arose  from  Mabel's 
misconduct  had  by  no  means  come  to  an  end. 
Belle's  place  in  the  class  was  just  at  Miss 
Ashton's  left  hand,  and  when  she  dropped  her 
slate  it  fell  at  the  foot  of  the  lady's  chair.  It 
had  escaped  the  fate  of  Lily's,  not  being  even 
cracked  by  the  fall ;  but  as  poor  little  Belle 
stooped  to  pick  it  up,  a  far  worse  misfortune 
than  the  loss  of  her  slate  befell  her.  As  she 
raised  her  head,  the  slight  chain  about  her 


Belle's  Misfortune.  145 

neck  caught  on  the  arm  of  the  chair,  and  the 
strain  snapped  it  in  two. 

The  sudden  check  and  drag  hurt  Belle  and 
left  an  angry  red  mark  about  her  neck,  but 
she  did  not  heed  the  sting  as  she  saw  chain 
and  locket  fall  at  her  feet. 

She  did  not  say  a  word,  only  snatched  it  up 
with  a  quick,  long-drawn  breath,  and  stood 
for  a  moment  looking  at  it  with  the  utmost 
dismay  and  grief  in  her  countenance ;  while  a 
chorus  of  sympathizing  exclamations  arose 
from  the  other  children.  The  mischief  done 
was  not  so  very  great,  and  could  easily  be 
repaired ;  but  in  Belle's  eyes  it  seemed  very 
dreadful,  and  as  though  her  treasure  was  very 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  destroyed.  Great  tears 
rose  to  her  eyes  and  rolled  slowly  down  her 
cheeks ;  and  she  turned  to  Miss  Ashton, 
piteously  holding  out  the  locket  in  her 
hand. 

Miss  Ashton  hastened  to  bring  comfort. 

"  Never  mind,  dear,"  she  said  cheerfully : 

"  it  can  easily  be  mended.     Tell  papa  it  was 
10 


146  Belle  Powers''  Locket. 

an  accident,  and  he  will  have  it  done  for  you, 
I  am  sure." 

"  But  now  the  jeweller  man  will  have  to 
take  it,"  said  Lily,  indignantly ;  "and  Belle 
didn't  want  to  have  it  go  'way  from  her,  and 
it's  all  just  for  the  way  Mabel  behaved.  I 
should  think  a  broken  locket  and  a  broken 
slate  were  just  about  too  much  consequences 
of  any  one's  naughtiness  and  hatefulness  for 
one  day." 

"  Be  quiet,  Lily,"  said  Miss  Ashton. 

"  But  it's  true,  Miss  Ashton  :  it  all  came  oi 
that  old  Mabel's  badness,"  persisted  Lily. 

"  Lily,  will  you  be  quiet  ? "  repeated  her 
teacher. 

Lily  dared  say  no  more ;  but  borrowing  a 
slate  for  the  purpose  from  the  child  who  stood 
next  her,  she  held  it  closely  before  her  face, 
and  from  behind  that  shelter  made  two  or 
three  grimaces  at  Mabel,  which,  whatever 
relief  they  might  afford  her  own  feelings,  did 
neither  harm  nor  good  to  any  one  else,  as  they 
were  not  seen. 


Belle's  Misfortune.  147 

Still  Lily's  words  were  felt  by  Belle  and  all 
the  rest  of  the  class  to  be  true.  Belle's  mis- 
fortune was  certainly  the  result  of  Mabel's 
ill-behavior ;  and  it  was  very  hard  for  the 
poor  little  girl  to  keep  down  the  angry  feelings 
which  seemed  as  if  they  would  rise  up  to 
accuse  her  cousin. 

And  Lily's  speech  or  speeches,  and  the 
knowledge  that  she  was  blamed  by  all  her 
class-mates,  vexed  Mabel  again,  and  crushed 
down  the  better  feelings  which  had  arisen 
towards  Belle,  so  that  she  put  on  an  appear- 
ance of  complete  indifference  to  her  distress ; 
and  muttered  sulkily,  — 

"  I  don't  care." 

"  Put  the  locket  carefully  away  in  your 
desk,  dear,"  said  Miss  Ashton  to  Belle,  "  and 
do  not  fret  about  it.  Your  papa  will  have 
it  fixed  for  you,  and  it  will  be  as  good  as 
ever." 

Belle  obeyed,  putting  the  locket  carefully  in 
one  corner  of  her  desk,  with  a  rampart  of 
books  raised  about  it;  and  then  returned  to 


148  Belle  Power s^  Locket. 

her  place,  still  rather  disconsolate,  and  feel- 
ing that  she  was  fully  entitled  to  all  the  pity- 
ing and  sympathizing  looks  bestowed  upon 
her. 

After  this  the  business  of  the  class  went  on 
without  farther  interruption,  and  the  arith- 
metic lesson  came  to  an  end. 


X. 


A   TERRIBLE  LOSS. 

HEN  Miss  Ashton  dismissed  the  rest 
of  her  little  class  for  the  recess  which 
they  took  in  the  course  of  the  morn- 
ing, she  told  Mabel  to  come  with  her;  and 
taking  her  apart  into  a  room  by  herself,  she 
talked  gravely  but  kindly  to  her. 

"  Would  you  like  it,  my  dear  ?  "  she  said, 
"  if  I  sent  you  home  with  a  note  to  your 
mamma,  saying  I  could  no  longer  have  you 
in  the  school  ?  " 

Mabel  hesitated  a  moment,  half-inclined  to 
say  that  it  was  just  what  she  would  like ;  but 
calling  to  mind  the  nice  plays  she  often  had 
with  her  young  school-mates,  the  pretty  pick- 


150  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

ure  cards  she  sometimes  received  from  Miss 
Ashton  when  she  had  been  particularly  good 
or  recited  her  lessons  well,  and  several  other 
pleasures  which  school  afforded,  she  thought 
better  of  it,  and  said  she  would  not  like  it  at 
all ;  adding  to  herself  what  she  dared  not  say 
aloud  to  Miss  Ashton,  that  she  would  carry 
no  such  note  home,  but  throw  it  away  in  the 
street  if  it  was  given  to  her. 

"  And  I  should  be  very  sorry  to  do  it,"  said 
the  young  lady ;  "  but,  Mabel,  unless  you  do 
better,  I  cannot  have  you  in  my  school.  Why, 
my  dear,  since  you  have  been  here  there  has 
been  more  quarrelling  and  disturbance  than 
during  all  the  rest  of  the  time  I  have  had  the 
class.  This  must  not  go  on ;  for  you  cannot 
stay  with  us  if  you  will  behave  so  as  to  destroy 
all  our  peace  and  comfort." 

Mabel  hung  her  head ;  but  she  took  the 
reproof  better  than  she  generally  received 
any  fault-finding ;  and  after  Miss  Ashton  had 
talked  a  little  more,  setting  her  naughtiness 
and  its  sad  consequences  plainly  before  her, 


A  Terrible  Loss.  151 

and  urging  her  to  be  good  and  amiable  for 
her  own  sake  as  well  as  because  it  was  right, 
she  had  permission  to  go,  and  left  her  teacher, 
half-repentant,  but  still  not  quite  determined 
to  take  her  advice  and  warnings  and  make  up 
her  mind  to  be  a  better  child. 

In  this  perverse  mood,  she  did  not  feel 
like  joining  the  other  children,  who  were  play- 
ing on  the  piazza  and  out  in  the  garden,  but 
wandered  back  to  the  school-room  by  herself. 
She  sat  here  a  moment  or  two  in  her  own 
seat,  which  was  next  to  Belle's,  knocking  her 
feet  idly  against  the  floor,  and  wishing  for 
something  to  amuse  herself  with  ;  but  still 
too  proud  or  too  sulky  to  go  and  play  with  the 
others.  But  presently  she  bethought  herself 
once  more  of  the  locket,  and  the  temptation 
came  to  her  to  open  Belle's  desk  and  look  at 
it.  Then  Conscience  whispered,  "  Shame ! 
shame  !  Belle  was  so  kind  to  you,  and  begged 
you  off  when  Miss  Ashton  would  have  pun- 
ished you." 

The  still,  small  voice  made  itself  heard  so 


152  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

plainly  that  she  could  not  refuse  to  listen  at 
first,  but  she  tried  to  hush  it,  and  at  last 
succeeded. 

"  I'm  not  going  to  do  any  harm,"  she  said ; 
"  only  just  to  look  at  the  locket,  and  that 
can't  hurt  it.  Belle  won't  know  it,  and  she 
won't  be  mad." 

She  opened  Belle's  desk  and  peeped  in. 

There  lay  the  pretty  trifle  she  coveted  in 
the  snug  corner  where  the  little  owner's  hands 
had  so  carefully  placed  it.  Mabel  looked  and 
looked,  and  from  looking  she  went  to  touching 
it.  First  with  only  one  finger,  feeling  guilty 
and  ashamed  all  the  time ;  for  with  all  her 
faults  Mabel  was  not  generally  deceitful  or 
meddling.  Presently  growing  bolder,  she 
took  it  up,  shut  down  the  lid  of  the  desk,  and 
sat  turning  the  locket  over  and  over,  wishing 
that  the  jeweller  were  there,  so  that  she  might 
show  it  to  him  while  Belle  knew  nothing 
about  it. 

Suddenly  she  heard  a  quick,  running  step 
in  the  hall  without ;  and  before  she  had  time 


A  Terrible  Loss.  153 

to  open  Belle's  desk  and  put  the  locket  in  its 
place,  Dora  Johnson  came  in.  Mabel  dropped 
the  locket  in  her  lap,  and  threw  her  pocket- 
handkerchief  over  it.  Dora  saw  nothing 
wrong,  only  Mabel  sitting  there  with  a  very 
red  face,  which  she  supposed  to  arise  from 
shame,  as  indeed  it  partly  did,  though  it  came 
from  a  cause  which  Dora  never  suspected. 

"  It's  beginning  to  rain,  and  we  all  have  to 
come  in,"  said  Dora ;  and  the  next  moment 
the  whole  troop  of  children  running  in  proved 
the  truth  of  her  words.  They  did  not  all 
come  into  the  school-room ;  but  Dora  and  one 
or  two  more  were  there,  so  that  Mabel  did  not 
dare  to  lift  the  lid  of  Belle's  desk  again  and 
put  back  the  locket. 

She  was  very  much  frightened,  and  would 
have  been  content,  glad  indeed,  to  give  up  the 
hope  of  any  locket  at  all,  to  have  had  Belle's 
safely  back  where  she  had  left  it.  She  knew 
that  her  school-mates  would  all  cry  out  shame 
upon  her  if  they  saw  that  she  had  meddled 
with   the    locket,   and    she   knew    that    she 


154  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

deserved  this  ;  but  she  shrank  from  the  looks 
and  words  of  scorn  and  displeasure  which  she 
knew  would  fall  upon  her  when  they  dis- 
covered the  treachery  she  had  been  guilty  of 
towards  her  dear  little  cousin. 

So  she  felt  and  thought  as  she  sat  there 
with  the  locket  hidden  on  her  lap,  and  at  last 
feeling  that  she  must  rid  herself  of  it  by  some 
means,  and  fearing  that  Miss  Ashton  would 
return  to  call  them  to  order  before  she  did  so, 
she  rose  and  wandered  out  of  the  room,  hold- 
ing the  locket  fast  within  her  handkerchief. 

Most  of  the  children  were  in  the  hall,  and 
she  went  on  into  the  cloak-room.  There  was 
no  one  there ;  and  as  she  looked  about  her, 
wondering  what  she  should  do  with  the  locket, 
the  bell  rang  to  call  the  class  back  to  their 
places. 

With  no  time  to  think,  with  no  plan  in  her 
head,  not  meaning  to  keep  the  locket  from 
Belle,  nor  yet  seeing  her  way  clearly  to  the 
means  of  getting  it  back,  Mabel  hastily 
dropped  it  in  a  corner  upon  the  floor,  snatched 


A  Terrible  Loss.  155 

down  her  own  hat  and  sacque  and  threw  them 
over  it ;  then  ran  back  to  the  school-room  with 
beating  heart  and  crimson  cheeks.  No  one 
noticed  her  guilty  looks ;  or,  if  they  did,  laid 
them  to  the  same  cause  that  Dora  Johnson 
had  done,  and  did  not  speak  of  them. 

The  class  in  reading  was  now  called  up; 
and  as  Mabel  took  her  stand  about  the  middle 
of  the  row,  she  gave  her  attention,  not  to  the 
task  before  her,  but  to  the  locket  lying  hidden 
in  the  cloak-room,  and  tried  to  contrive  a  way 
out  of  her  difficulty. 

Suddenly  a  thought  struck  her,  and  she 
gave  a  great  sigh  of  relief.  This  was  the  day 
on  which  Belle  took  her  music-lesson  after 
school  was  dismissed  :  it  might  be  that  she 
would  not  discover  that  the  locket  had  been 
taken  out  of  her  desk  till  she  came  to  go 
home ;  and  she,  Mabel,  would  have  time  to 
put  it  back  after  the  other  children  had  left. 

Miss  Ashton's  voice  roused  her,  calling 
back  her  thoughts  to  her  lesson  and  remind- 
ing her  that  it  was  her  turn  to  read  ;  but  she 


156  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

did  not  know  where  the  place  was,  and  when 
it  was  pointed  out  to  her  by  Belle,  she  stum- 
bled and  blundered  over  words  that  she  knew 
quite  well,  and  read  most  disgracefully,  finish- 
ing her  performance  with  a  new  burst  of 
crying. 

Miss  Ashton  did  not  find  fault  with  her, 
believing  perhaps  that  she  really  could  not 
help  it,  but  passed  on  to  the  next.  Would 
she  have  taken  it  so  quietly  if  she  had  known 
the  true  cause  of  Mabel's  excitement?  The 
child  could  not  help  asking  herself  this  ques- 
tion, or  wondering  what  punishment  she  would 
be  called  on  to  bear  if  her  teacher  knew  all. 
Not  for  twenty  lockets  such  as  Belle's  would 
she  have  borne  the  miserable  feelings  from 
which  she  was  suffering  now. 

So  the  time  dragged  on,  heavily,  heavily, 
till  it  was  the  hour  for  dismissal ;  and  the 
little  ones  prepared  to  go  home. 

Mabel  watched  Belle's  every  motion,  scarce- 
ly daring  to  hope  that  she  would  not  discover 
her  loss   before  she  went  downstairs  to  her 


A  Terrible  Loss.  157 

music-lesson ;  but  Belle,  never  dreaming  but 
that  her  treasure  lay  safely  hidden  in  the 
far  corner  where  she  had  left  it,  put  books 
and  slate  back  into  her  desk  in  haste,  and 
at  last  followed  Miss  Ashton  from  the 
room. 

Then  Mabel  hurried  into  the  cloak-room,  a 
new  fear  taking  hold  of  her,  as  fears  without 
number  or  reason  ever  will  of  the  guilty. 
Suppose  any  of  the  other  children  had  lifted 
her  sacque  and  found  the  locket  beneath  it! 
No :  it  lay  upon  the  floor  still,  —  not  just  as 
she  had  left  it,  it  seemed  to  her  fearful, 
suspicious  eyes.  But  no  one  turned  upon 
her  with  accusing  words  or  looks ;  and  she 
believed  herself  safe,  if  she  could  but  man- 
age to  be  the  last  child  to  go. 

Nanette,  her  nurse,  who  was  waiting  for 
her,  was  too  well  used  to  her  freaks  to  be 
much  surprised  when  she  declared  she  was 
not  going  home  just  yet ;  and  stood  by,  with 
what  patience  she  might,  to  await  the  pleasure 
of  her  hard  young  task-mistress,  who  plumped 


158  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

herself  down  on  the  flooi  upon  her  saeque 
with  a  look  of  dogged  determination,  which 
Nanette  knew  well  would  change  to  one  of 
furious  passion  if  she  were  crossed. 

As  Lily  Norris  left  the  room,  she  could  not 
refrain  from  a  parting  shot  at  Mabel. 

"  Mabel,"  she  said,  "  in  the  '  Nonsense 
Book '  there  is  a  picture  of  a  sulky  girl  sitting 
on  a  carpet,  and  the  reading  about  her  begins, 

'  There  was  a  young  lady  of  Turkey, 
Whose  temper  was  exceedingly  murky ;  * 

and  I  just  b'lieve  the  man  what  took  her  por- 
trait, and  made  the  poetry  about  her,  meant 
you ; "  with  which,  mindful  of  the  fact  that 
Mabel's  hand  was  swift  and  heavy  when  she 
was  provoked,  she  flew  from  the  room,  chuck- 
ling over  her  own  joke,  and  joined  in  her 
laughter  by  those  who  followed  her,  Lily  being 
considered  a  great  wit. 

So  had  Mabel  set  all  her  young  school-mates 
against  her  that  there  was  scarcely  one  who 
did  not  enjoy  a  laugh  at  her  expense.  But 
just  now  Mabel  was  too  much  troubled  about 


A  Terrible  Loss.  159 

another  matter  to  vex  herself  concerning 
Lily's  tantalizing  words ;  and  she  was  only 
too  thankful  to  see  all  the  children  leave  the 
cloak-room  one  after  another. 

The  moment  the  last  one  had  disappeared, 
she  ordered  her  nurse  to  go  out  and  stand  in 
the  entry;  sprang  to  her  feet  and  snatched 
up  the  sacque,  intending  to  run  with  the  locket 
and  pop  it  into  Belle's  desk  without  loss  of 
time. 

But  —  there  was  no  locket  there  ! 

She  shook  out  her  sacque  and  turned  it 
over  and  over,  looked  in  her  hat,  searched  all 
about  the  corner,  and  then  threw  her  eyes 
hastily  around  the  room ;  all  in  vain.  The 
locket  was  certainly  gone ;  and  the  next 
moment  a  cry,  half  of  rage,  half  of  alarm 
and  despair,  brought  Nanette  back  to  the 
room. 

4t  What  is  it  ? "  she  asked,  seeing  by  the 
child's  face  that  it  was  no  ordinary  fit  of  tem- 
per that  ailed  Mabel. 

"  It's  gone !    Oh,  it's  gone !  "  sobbed  Mabel, 


160  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

wringing  her  hands  and  looking  the  very  pict- 
ure of  distress. 

"  But  what  is  gone  ?  What  have  you  lost  ? " 
asked  the  maid. 

Then  Mabel  recollected  herself,  and  cried 
less  loudly :  she  would  not  have  even  Nanette 
know  how  naughty  she  had  been,  how  meanly 
she  had  acted  towards  the  dear  little  cousin 
who  had  been  so  kind  to  her ;  for,  mingled 
with  her  own  fears  for  herself,  there  was  a 
feeling  of  deep  remorse  for  the  trouble  she 
had  brought  upon  Belle. 

What  would  the  latter  say  when  she  should 
discover  her  loss  ? 

And,  oh  dear !  oh  dear !  what  was  she  to 
do  herself? 

Even  her  own  indulgent  and  all-excusing 
mother  could  hardly  overlook  such  a  thing  as 
this. 

She  ceased  her  loud  cries  and  tried  to  choke 
back  the  sobs,  but  in  vain  did  she  wipe  her 
eyes  again  and  again  :  the  tears  gathered  and 
rolled  down  her  cheeks  as  fast  as  she  dried 


A  Terrible  Loss.  161 

them  away;  and  presently  Miss  Ash  ton,  who 
had  heard  her  cries,  came  running  upstairs, 
followed  by  Belle,  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 

But  the  moment  she  saw  them,  Mabel  turned 
sullen,  pouted  out  her  lips,  and  would  not 
speak ;  nor  could  Nanette  give  any  explana- 
tion of  the  cause  of  the  commotion  she  had 
made.  And  Miss  Ashton,  much  displeased  at 
this  new  disturbance,  bade  the  nurse  put  on 
Mabel's  things  and  take  her  home  at 
once. 

Mabel  was  glad  enough  to  obey,  and  she 
suffered  Nanette  to  lead  her  home  as  quietly 
as  a  lamb,  though  she  could  not  help  a  tear 
and  a  sigh  now  and  then ;  and  Nanette  won- 
dered much  what  secret  trouble  should  have 
brought  about  this  distress. 

Nor  was  Mabel's  mamma  more  successful 
in  discovering  the  cause,  when  she  noticed  the 
traces  of  tears  and  observed  the  child's  evident 
unhappiness.  Mabel  would  not  speak,  or  con- 
fess what  she  had  done  ;  and  she  shrank  from 

her  mother's  caresses  and  coaxings,  and  hung 
11 


1 62  Belle  Power?  Locket, 

around  in  sullen,  miserable  silence,  waiting 
till  Belle  should  come  home  grieved  to  the 
heart,  as  she  knew  she  would  be,  by  the  loss  of 
her  much-prized  locket. 


XI. 


BELLE'S   GRIEF. 

ND  meanwhile  how  was  it  with  little 
Belle  ? 

Daphne  went  for  her  young  mis- 
tress at  the  appointed  hour,  and  as  soon  as 
the  music-lesson  was  finished  took  her  up- 
stairs to  make  her  ready. 

"  An'  whar's  yer  locket,  honey  ? "  she 
asked,  immediately  missing  the  ornament 
from  about  the  child's  neck. 

"  In  my  desk :  it  did  come  to  a  danger, 
Daphne.  I  broke  the  chain  and  had  to  put  it 
away.  I'm  going  to  bring  it,  and  give  it  to 
you  to  carry  home  very  carefully,  so  it  won't 
Ve  lost." 


164  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

"And  how  did  it  come  bioke,  dear?" 
questioned  the  old  woman. 

"  The  chain  caught  on  Miss  Ashton's  chair 
and  just  came  right  in  two,"  said  Belle, 
refraining  from  blaming  her  cousin,  upon 
whom  she  knew  Daphne  looked  with  such  an 
unfavorable  eye. 

And  away  she  ran  into  the  school-room, 
Daphne  following,  and  opened  her  desk. 

"  Why !  "  she  exclaimed,  seeing  the  locket 
was  not  where  she  had  left  it ;  and  then  has- 
tily fell  to  turning  her  books  about  and 
looking  beneath  them. 

"  What  is  it,  dear  heart  ?  Whar  am  it 
gone  ?  "  said  Daphne,  seeing  no  locket,  and 
observing  the  disturbance  of  her  little  charge. 

"  I  don't  know  ;  I  left  it  here,  —  right  here 
in  this  corner.  Oh !  Daffy,  I  know  I  did  ;  and 
I  never  touched  it  again.  Miss  Ash  ton  told  me 
not,  not  till  I  went  home  ;  and  I  did  mind  her, 
oh !  I  did ;  but  it  isn't  there.  Oh !  Daffy, 
you  look,  quick.  Oh !  my  locket,  mamma's 
own  locket ! " 


Belle  Powers. 


p.  161. 


Belle's  Grief,  165 

Daphne  turned  over  each  book  as  hurriedly 
as  Belle  had  done  ;  then  took  them  all  out  and 
shook  them,  peered  within  the  empty  desk, 
and  swept  her  hand  around  it  again  and  again ; 
looked  on  the  floor  beneath  :  but  all  in  vain. 
The  locket  was  certainly  not  there,  and  Belle's 
face  grew  each  moment  more  and  more 
troubled. 

"  You's  forgot,  and  took  it  out  again, 
honey,"  said  the  old  woman  at  last. 

"  Oh  !  I  didn't :  how  could  I  forget  ?  And  I 
don't  dis'bey  Miss  Ashton  when  she  tells  me 
don't  do  a  thing.  I  don't,  Daphne ;  and  I 
couldn't  forget  about  my  mamma's  locket ; " 
and  the  poor  little  thing  burst  into  tears. 
Such  tears ! 

If  any  of  you  have  ever  lost  something 
which  to  you  was  very  dear  and  sacred,  which 
you  looked  upon  as  a  treasure  past  all  price, 
and  which  you  would  not  have  exchanged  for 
a  hundred  pretty  things,  each  one  of  far  more 
value,  you  may  know  how  Belle  felt  at  this 
unlooked-for  and,  to  her,  mysterious  disap- 
pearance of  her  locket. 


1 66  Belle  Power?  Locket* 

"  Now,  don't  yer,  honey-pot,  —  don't  yer," 
said  Daphne,  vainly  trying  to  soothe  her : 
"  'twill  be  foun',  I  reckon ;  but  if  you  ain't 
took  it  out,  some  one  else  has,  for  sartain.  It 
ain't  walked  out  ob  yer  desk  widout  han's,  for 
sartain  sure." 

"  Oh  !  but,  Daffy,  who  would  take  it  ?  who 
would  be  so  bad  to  me  ?  They  knew  I  loved 
it  so.  I  don't  b'lieve  anybody  could  tease  me 
so,  when  they  knew  it  was  my  own  dead 
mamma's  locket,"  sobbed  the  little  one. 

"  Um !  I  spec'  it  warn't  for  no  teasin'  it 
war  done,"  said  Daphne,  half  hesitating ;  then 
her  resentment  and  anger  at  the  supposed 
thief  getting  the  better  of  her  prudence,  she 
added,  "  I  did  alius  know  Miss  Mabel  wor  a 
bad  one  ;  but  I  didnH  tink  she  so  fur  trabelled 
on  de  broad  road  as  to  take  to  stealin',  —  and 
de  property  ob  her  own  kin  too." 

The  word  "stealing"  silenced  Belle,  and 
checked  her  tears  and  cries  for  a  moment  or 
two. 

"  Stealing ! "  she  repeated ;  "  Mabel  wouldn't 


Belle's  Grief.  167 

steal,  Daffy.  Oh,  that  would  be  too  dreadful ! 
She  must  know  better  than  that.  She  couldn't 
steal  my  locket." 

"  Dunno,"  said  Daphne,  dryly :  "  'pears  un- 
common like  it.  Who  you  s'pose  is  de  tief 
den,  Miss  Belle  ?  " 

"  But  we  don't  have  thiefs  in  our  school, 
Daphne,"  said  the  little  girl :  "  we  wouldn't  do 
such  a  thing,  and  Miss  Ashton  would  never 
'low  it." 

"  Dey  don't  ginerally  ask  no  leave  'bout 
dere  comin's  an'  goin's,"  said  Daphne :  "  if 
dey  did,  I  specs  der'd  be  less  of  'em.  You 
'pend  upon  it,  Miss  Belle,  dat  ar  locket's  been 
stealed ;  an'  I  can  put  my  finger  on  who  took 
it  right  straight  off." 

"  But,"  persisted  Belle,  whose  distress  was 
still  for  the  time  overcome  by  her  horror  at 
Daphne's  suggestion,  "  I  don't  b'lieve  any  one 
would  do  such  a  thing  ;  and,  Daphne,"  raising 
her  small  head  with  a  little  dignified  air,  and 
looking  reprovingly  at  the  old  woman,  "I 
don't  b'lieve,  either,  that  it  is  very  proper  for 


1 68  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

you  to  call  Mabel  a  thief.  Maybe  she  took  it 
to  show  to  the  jeweller  man,  but  I  know  she 
couldn't  steal  it.  But,  oh  dear !  oh  dear !  I 
wonder  if  I  will  ever  have  it  back  again,  my 
own,  own  mamma's  locket ;  "  and  the  sense  of 
her  loss  coming  over  her  with  new  force,  she 
laid  her  head  down  upon  her  desk  and  cried 
aloud. 

For  the  second  time  the  sounds  of  distress 
called  Miss  Ashton  to  see  what  the  trouble 
was ;  and  they  brought  also  the  older  girls 
from  Mrs.  Ashton' s  room,  for  their  recess 
was  not  yet  quite  over.  They  all  crowded 
about  Belle,  asking  what  was  the  matter,  and 
trying  to  soothe  her ;  for  Belle  was  a  great 
favorite  and  pet  in  the  school,  partly  because 
she  was  motherless,  —  poor  little  one! — which 
gave  teachers  and  scholars  all  a  tender  feeling 
toward  her,  partly  because  she  had  many 
taking  and  pretty  ways  of  her  own,  which 
made  her  very  attractive  to  every  one  who 
knew  her. 

Tn  her  uncertainty  and  distress  the  child 


Belle's  Grief.  169 

could  not  make  plain  the  cause  of  her  trouble  ; 
and  Daphne  took  upon  herself  the  task  of 
explanation,  glad,  if  the  truth  were  known,  of 
the  chance.  Nor  was  she  backward  in  express 
ing  her  own  views  of  the  matter,  and  in 
boldly  asserting  that  the  locket  had  been 
stolen,  and  she  knew  by  whom. 

But  at  this,  Belle  roused  herself  and  inter- 
rupted her  nurse. 

"  No,  no,"  she  said,  shaking  her  head  as 
she  looked  up  with  face  all  drowned  in  tears, 
and  hardly  able  to  speak  for  sobbing,  —  "no, 
no,  Miss  Ashton,  Daphne  must  be  mistaken. 
Mabel  never  would  do  it,  —  never !  " 

Now  in  spite  of  all  her  own  declarations  to 
the  contrary,  the  fact  was  that  Daphne's  re- 
peated accusations,  and  the  recollection  of  Ma- 
bel's threats  that  she  would  "  have  the  locket 
somehow"  had  caused  a  doubt  to  enter  little 
Belle's  mind  as  to  the  possibility  and  proba- 
bility of  Mabel  being  the  "thief"  Daphne 
called  her  ;  but  mindful  of  the  "  love-charity  " 
she  was  determined  to  feel  for  her  cousin, — 


170  Belle  Powers^  Locket. 

the  charity  which  "  believeth  all  things,  hopeth 
all  things,"  —  she  tried  to  put  this  doubt  from 
her,  and  to  think  that  some  one  else  was  the 
guilty  person,  or  that  the  locket  had  only  been 
taken  to  tease  her.  And  she  was  not  will- 
ing that  others  should  join  in  Daphne's 
suspicions  and  believe  that  Mabel  could  do 
such  a  thing. 

But  Miss  Ashton  herself  had  too  much  rea- 
son to  fear  that  Daphne's  idea  was,  in  part  at 
least,  correct.  Enough  had  come  to  her  ears 
and  passed  before  her  eyes,  to  make  her 
believe  that  Mabel,  in  her  extreme  wilfulness, 
would  not  hesitate  at  any  means  of  gaining 
her  point,  especially  in  the  matter  of  the 
locket.  She  did  not,  it  is  true,  feel  sure  that 
Mabel  intended  to  keep  the  locket ;  but  she 
thought  she  had  probably  taken  it  against  her 
cousin's  will,  for  purposes  of  her  own  ;  and 
this  was  hardly  less  dishonest  than  if  she  had, 
according  to  Daphne,  stolen  it  outright. 

Miss  Ashton  was  very  much  disturbed. 
Mabel  was  proving  such  a  source  of  trouble, 


Belle's  Grief.  171 

such  a  firebrand  in  her  little  school,  which 
had  until  now  gone  on  in  so  much  peace  and 
harmony,  that  she  had  felt  for  some  days  as 
if  it  were  scarcely  best  to  keep  her ;  still  for 
many  reasons  she  did  not  wish  to  ask  her 
mother  to  remove  her. 

She  thought  it  better  for  Mabel  to  be  thrown 
more  with  other  children  than  she  had  hither- 
to been  ;  and  her  hope  of  doing  her  some  good 
could  not  be  put  away  readily ;  and  also  she 
shrank  from  offending  and  grieving  the  child's 
relatives,  especially  Mr.  Powers,  who  had 
been  a  good  friend  to  her  mother  and  her- 
self. 

But  if  Mabel  was  a  child  of  so  little  princi- 
ple as  to  do  a  thing  like  this,  it  was  best  to 
send  her  away  at  once,  she  thought;  and 
there  seemed  too  much  reason  to  fear  that  it 
was  so. 

However,  she  said  nothing  of  all  this  to 
Belle,  and  when  the  old  colored  woman  began 
again,  gently  stopped  her,  saying, — 

"  That  will  do,  Daphne :  we  will  not  say  any 


172  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

more  about  this.  Belle,  my  dear,  open  your 
desk  and  let  us  search  again." 

Of  course  the  desk  was  searched  in  vain, 
and  not  only  the  desk,  but  the  whole  school- 
room ;  Miss  Ashton  faintly  hoping  that  Belle 
might  accidentally  have  pulled  the  locket  out 
and  dropped  it  on  the  floor. 

Meanwhile  the  bell  had  rung  to  call  the 
older  girls  back  to  their  class  ;  and  Mrs.  Ash- 
ton, hearing  the  story  from  them,  came  also  to 
Belle  to  make  some  inquiries.  This  was  a 
serious  matter,  the  disappearance  of  a  valu- 
able thing  from  the  desk  of  one  of  her  little 
scholars,  and  needed  to  be  thoroughly  sifted. 
But  as  soon  as  she  appeared,  Belle  was  seized 
with  that  unfortunate  dread  of  the  elder  lady 
which  possessed  all  the  little  girls ;  and  she 
thought  what  would  become  of  Mabel  if  Mrs. 
Ashton,  too,  believed  her  to  be  a  "  thief." 
Visions  of  squads  of  policemen,  prisons  and 
chains,  danced  before  her  mind's  eye ;  and 
her  imagination,  almost  as  quick  and  fertile 
as    Maggie   Bradford's,   pictured   her   cousin 


Belle's  Grief.  173 

dragged  away  by  Mrs.  Ashton's  orders,  while 
the  rest  of  the  family  were  plunged  in  the 
deepest  grief  and  disgrace. 

So  it  was  but  little  satisfaction  that  Mrs. 
Ashton  gained  from  her,  in  reply  to  her  ques- 
tions. Not  so  Daphne,  however  ;  finding  that 
her  young  lady  gave  such  short  and  low 
answers  as  could  scarcely  be  understood,  she 
once  more  poured  forth  her  opinions  till  again 
ordered  to  stop. 

However,  there  was  one  opinion  in  which 
all  were  forced  to  agree  ;  namely,  that  the 
locket  was  certainly  gone.  Belle's  sobs  were 
quieted  at  last,  save  when  a  long,  heavy  sigh 
struggled  up  now  and  then  ;  but  her  face  wore 
a  piteous,  grieved  look  which  it  went  to  Miss 
Ashton's  heart  to  see.  With  her  own  hands, 
she  put  on  the  child's  hat  and  sacque,  petting 
her  tenderly  and  assuring  her  that  she  would 
leave  no  means  untried  to  discover  her  lost 
treasure  ;  and  then  Belle  went  home  with  her 
nurse. 

Daphne  stalked  with  her  charge  at  once  to 


174  Belle  Power?  Locket. 

Mrs.  Walton's  room ;  and,  forgetting  her 
usual  good  manners,  threw  open  the  door 
without  knocking,  and  standing  upon  the 
threshold  proclaimed, — 

"  Miss  Walton,  Miss  Belle's  locket  am  clean 
gone,  chain  an'  all ;  an'  de  Lord  will  sure 
foller  wid  His  judgment  on  dem  what's  robbed 
a  moderless  chile." 

Her  words  were  addressed  to  Mrs.  Walton  • 
but  her  eyes  were  fastened  on  Mabel,  who 
shrank  from  both  look  and  words,  knowing 
full  well  that  Daphne  suspected  her  of  being 
the  guilty  one. 

Mrs.  Walton  held  out  her  hand  kindly  to 
Belle. 

"  Come  here,  darling,"  she  said,  "  and  tell 
me  all  about  it.  Your  locket  gone  ?  How  is 
that  ? " 

Belle  told  her  story  in  as  few  words  as 
possible,  avoiding  any  mention  of  Mabel's 
naughtiness  in  school  that  morning,  or  of  the 
threats  she  had  used  about  the  locket.  She 
did  not  even  look  at  Mabel  as  she  spoke,  for 


Belles  Grief.  175 

all  the  way  home  the  dear  little  soul  had  been 
contriving  how  she  might  act  and  speak  so  as 
not  to  let  Mabel  see  that  she  had  any  doubt  of 
her. 

"  'Cause  maybe  she  didn't  take  it,"  she  said 
to  herself:  "  it  isn't  a  very  maybe,  but  it's  a 
little  maybe  ;  and  I  would  be  sorry  if  I  b'lieved 
she  took  it  and  then  knew  she  didn't ;  and 
she  might  be  offended  with  me  for  ever  and 
ever  if  I  thought  she  was  a  thief." 

But  the  puzzle  had  been  great  in  Belle's 
mind  ;  for  she  thought,  "  If  she  took  it  for  a 
pattern  for  the  locket-man  and  not  to  keep  it, 
I  wonder  if  it  wasn't  somehow  a  little  bit  like 
stealing ; "  and  she  could  not  help  the  sus~ 
picion  that  Mabel  had  really  done  this. 

Mrs.  Walton  was  full  of  sympathy  and  pity, 
and  asked  more  questions  than  Belle  felt  able 
or  willing  to  answer ;  but  it  never  entered  her 
mind  to  suspect  her  own  child. 

And,  indeed,  with  all  her  sad,  naughty  ways, 
she  had  never  known  Mabel  to  tell  a  wilful 
falsehood,  or  to  take  that  which  did  not  belong 


176  Belle  Powers*  Locket. 

to  her  in  a  deceitful,  thievish  manner.  She 
would,  it  is  true,  insist  that  the  thing  she 
desired  should  be  given  to  her,  and  often 
snatch  and  pull  at  that  which  was  another's, 
or  boldly  help  herself  in  defiance  of  orders  to 
the  contrary ;  but  to  do  this  in  a  secret  way, 
to  be  in  the  least  degree  dishonest  or  false, 
such  a  thing  would  have  seemed  quite  impossi- 
ble to  Mrs.  Walton. 

"  Can  it  be  that  one  of  your  little  class- 
mates is  so  very  wicked  ?  "  she  said.  "  Miss 
Ashton  should  see  to  this  at  once :  it  is  almost 
impossible  that  she  should  not  discover  the 
thief  if  she  makes  proper  efforts." 

How  did  the  words  of  her  unsuspecting 
mother  sound  to  the  ears  of  the  guilty  little 
daughter  who  stood  in  the  recess  of  the  win- 
dow, half  hidden  by  the  curtains,  but  plainly 
hearing  all  that  passed  as  she  pretended  to  be 
playing  with  her  dolls  ? 

Would  Miss  Ashton  find  her  out  ?  Would 
it  not  be  better  to  go  at  once  and  confess  ? 

And  it  was  not  only  fear  for  herself  which 


Belle's  Grief.  177 

*ed  Mabel  to  hesitate  thus :  she  was  really 
full  of  remorse  and  sorrow  for  the  trouble 
which  her  wicked,  selfish  conduct  had  brought 
upon  Belle  ;  and  as  she  saw  how  her  forgiving 
little  cousin  avoided  blaming  her,  these  feel- 
ings grew  stronger  and  stronger,  till  they 
almost  overcame  the  selfishness  which  ruled 
her.  But  not  quite ;  and  she  resolved  to 
make  amends  to  Belle  in  some  other  way. 

She  thought  she  was  doing  this,  and  show- 
ing great  generosity,  when  she  came  out  of 
her  corner,  and  said  to  her  mother,  — 

"  Mamma,  please  buy  a  very  nice  locket, 
and  let  Belle  have  it  'stead  of  me.  I'll  give 
it  up  to  her,  'cause  hers  is  gone." 

Whatever  suspicions  Belle  might  have  had 
were  at  once  put  to  flight  by  this  ;  but  the 
offer  had  no  charms  for  her.  No  other  locket 
could  take  the  place  of  mamma's ;  and  she 
shook  her  head  sadly,  as  she  said,  — 

"  No,  thank  you,  Mabel :  I  don't  want  any 

other  locket  to  make  up  that  one.     I  couldn't 

wear  it,  indeed  I  couldn't." 
12 


178  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

The  melancholy  tone  of  her  voice  brought 
back  all  Mabel's  self-reproach,  and  of  the  two 
children  she  was  perhaps  really  the  most  un 
happy  ;  but  still  she  could  not  resolve  to  con- 
fess, though  Conscience  whispered  that  if  she 
told  what  she  had  done,  there  might  be  more 
chance  of  rinding  the  locket. 

Had  she  not  felt  too  much  ashamed  and 
unworthy  of  praise,  she  might  have  been  con- 
soled by  all  that  her  mother  lavished  upon 
her  for  her  offer  to  Belle.  Such  unheard-of 
generosity  on  Mabel's  part  was  something  so 
new  and  delightful  that  Mrs.  Walton  could  not 
say  enough  in  its  praise ;  and  both  she  and 
Mr.  Walton  began  to  hope  that  companionship 
with  other  children,  and  Belle's  good  example, 
were  really  doing  her  good.  Little  did  they 
think  what  was  the  true  cause  of  the  proposed 
self-denial,  or  of  Mabel's  evident  low  spirits. 

When  Mr.  Powers  came  home,  he  was 
almost  as  much  disturbed  as  Belle  to  hear  of 
the  fate  of  her  locket ;  and  when  she  had  gone 
to  rest  that  evening,  he  went  to  see  Miss  Ash- 


Belle's  Grief,  179 

ton  to  ask  if  she  could  take  no  steps  for  its 
recovery. 

He  was  very  grave  and  silent  when  he  came 
back  ;  and  neither  that  evening  nor  the  next 
morning  did  he  have  much  to  say  concerning 
it,  save  that  he  comforted  his  little  daughter 
by  telling  her  that  he  had  good  hope  it  would 
be  found. 


XII. 


CONFESSION  AND  REPENTANCE. 

ABEL  declared  herself  not  well 
enough  to  go  to  school  the  next 
morning;  and  there  seemed  some 
reason  to  believe  it  was  really  so,  so  dull  and 
spiritless  and  unlike  herself  she  appeared; 
and  her  mother  allowed  her  to  remain  at 
home.  The  true  reason  was,  that  she  feared 
to  face  Miss  Ashton  and  her  school-mates. 

In  vain  did  her  mother  try  to  find  out  the 
cause  of  her  trouble,  for  it  was  easy  to  be  seen 
that  it  was  more  than  sickness. 

But  the  day  was  not  to  pass  over  without 
Mrs.  Walton  learning  this.  For  that  after- 
noon   Mabel  was    much    startled,  and    her 


Confession  and  Repentance.        181 

mother  somewhat  surprised,  by  a  call  from 
Miss  Ash  ton.  Mabel  shrank  away  from  her 
teacher,  and  said  she  had  to  go  to  her  uncle's 
rooms  and  play  with  Belle ;  and  Miss  Ashton 
was  not  sorry  to  have  her  go,  as  she  was 
about  to  ask  Mrs.  Walton  to  see  her  alone. 

She  said  this  as  soon  as  the  child  had  left 
the  room,  adding  that  she  had  come  on  what 
might  prove  a  painful  business ;  and  then  told 
Mrs.  Walton  all  that  had  passed  about  the 
locket  on  the  day  before,  part  of  which  she 
had  gathered  from  the  other  children,  part  she 
had  known  herself.  She  had  reason  to  fear, 
she  said,  that  Mabel  had  taken  the  locket,  as 
she  had  threatened  to  have  it,  in  one  way  or 
another ;  and  had  been  the  only  one  alone  in 
the  room  with  opportunity  to  take  it  from 
Belle's  desk.  She  told,  also,  how  strangely 
Mabel  had  acted  when  she  was  leaving  school 
the  day  before ;  and  said,  although  it  might 
not  be  so,  she  could  not  help  thinking  that 
this  might  be  connected  with  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  locket.      When  Mr.  Powers  had 


1 82  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

called  upon  her  the  evening  before,  she  told 
him  all  she  knew,  but  begged  him  to  say  noth- 
ing to  or  about  Mabel  until  she  had  questioned 
the  other  children,  and  found  out  who  had 
been  in  the  room  beside  herself.  No  one  else, 
so  far  as  she  could  learn,  had  been  there 
alone  ;  but  the  moment  Dora  Johnson  heard 
that  Belle's  locket  was  lost,  she  had  cried  out 
that  Mabel  must  have  taken  it  during  recess, 
and  that  was  the  reason  she  had  "  acted  so 
queer  and  mysterious."  This  was  the  general 
opinion  among  the  class,  and  they  were  all 
loud  in  their  indignation  against  Mabel.  She, 
Miss  Ashton,  had  told  them  they  must  not 
judge  too  hastily ;  but  she  could  not  herself 
deny  that  suspicion  pointed  very  strongly 
towards  the  child. 

Mrs.  Walton  was  much  distressed,  but  also 
much  displeased,  that  Miss  Ashton,  or  any  one 
else,  should  believe  Mabel  to  be  guilty.  She 
had  never  known  her  to  practise  deceit  or 
dishonesty  of  any  kind,  she  said ;  and  in- 
sisted on  sending  at  once  for  the  child  and 


Confession  and  Repentance.        183 

questioning  her.  Miss  Ashton  did  not  object, 
hoping  to  be  able  to  judge  from  Mabel's  man- 
ner whether  she  were  guilty  or  not ;  and  Mrs. 
Walton,  saying  she  was  determined  to  hear 
all  that  the  children  had  to  say  on  the  sub- 
ject, sent  the  nurse  to  bring  both  Belle  and 
Mabel. 

"  Is  Miss  Ashton  gone  ? "  asked  the  latter 
when  the  messenger  came. 

"  No,  mademoiselle,"  said  Nanette. 

"  Then  I  shan't  go.  I  don't  want  to  see 
her,"  said  Mabel.  "  Belle,  don't  go.  Stay 
and  play  with  me." 

But  Belle,  who  was  very  fond  of  her  teacher 
and  always  liked  to  see  her,  and  who,  more- 
over, had  a  faint  hope  that  she  might  have 
brought  some  good  news  about  the  locket, 
insisted  on  going  to  her  aunt's  room;  and 
Mabel,  dreading  the  same  thing  and  yet  not 
daring  to  stay  behind,  reluctantly  followed. 

Mrs.  Walton  and  Miss  Ashton  looked  from 
one  to  the  other  of  the  children  as  they  en- 
tered ;  and  as  the  former  saw  Mabel's  down- 


184  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

cast,  shamefaced  look  as  she  came  forward, 
her  heart  sank  within  her. 

What  if  Mabel  should  be  really  guilty,  after 
all? 

"  Did  you  find  any  thing  of  my  locket,  Miss 
Ashton  ? "  asked  little  Belle,  as  soon  as  she 
had  welcomed  the  young  lady. 

"  Not  yet,  dear ;  but  I  have  some  hope  of 
doing  so,"  answered  Miss  Ashton,  looking  at 
Mabel.  "  Now,  I  want  you  to  tell  your  aunt 
and  myself  all  you  can  about  it.  You  are 
quite  sure  you  did  not  touch  it  after  I  saw 
you  put  it  in  your  desk  ? " 

"  Quite,  quite  sure,  ma'am ;  and  I  never 
went  to  my  desk  after  that,  'cept  to  put  away 
my  slate ;  and  there's  nothing  more  to  tell 
about  it,  Miss  Ashton,  only  how  I  went  there 
to  give  it  to  Daphne,  and  couldn't  find  it.  It 
was  perferly  gone,"  and  Belle  gave  a  long 
sigh,  which  told  how  deep  her  loss  lay. 

"  Mabel,"  said  Mrs.  Walton,  suddenly,  "  did 
you  see  Belle's  locket  after  it  was  broken  ? " 

Mabel  hung  her  head  more  than  ever,  stam- 


Confession  and  Repentance.        185 

mered  and  stuttered,  and  finally  burst  into 
tears. 

Belle  looked  at  her,  colored,  and  hesitated  ; 
then  stepped  up  to  her,  and  putting  her  arm 
about  her  shoulder  said, — 

"  I  don't  b'lieve  Mabel  did  take  it,  Aunt 
Fanny :  I  don't  think  she  could  be  so  mean  to 
me.  I  tried  not  to  b'lieve  it,  and  now  I  don't 
think  I  do.  Please  don't  you  and  Miss  Ash- 
ton  b'lieve  so  either,  Aunt  Fanny." 

Belle's  "  love-charity "  was  too  much  for 
Mabel.  Taking  her  hands  from  before  her 
face,  she  clasped  them  about  her  cousin's  neck, 
and  sobbed  out,  — 

"  Oh  !  I  did,  Belle.  I  did  take  it  out  of 
your  desk  ;  but  I  never,  never  meant  to  keep 
it,  —  no,  not  even  to  show  to  the  locket-man  ; 
but  I  couldn't  find  it  to  put  it  back  ;  and  I'm 
so  sorry,  I'll  just  give  you  any  thing  in  the 
world  of  mine,  'cept  my  papa  and  mamma." 

Mabel's  words  were  so  incoherent  that  all 
her  hearers  could  understand  was  that  she  had 
taken  the  locket ;  and  though  Belle  had  been 


1 86  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

obliged  to  try  hard  to  believe  in  her  cousin's 
honesty,  the  shock  to  the  faith  she  had  built 
up  was  now  so  great  that  her  arm  dropped 
from  Mabel's  shoulder,  and  she  stood  utterly 
amazed  and  confounded.  Mrs.  Walton,  too, 
sat  as  if  she  were  stricken  dumb  ;  and  Miss 
Ashton  was  the  first  to  speak,  which  she  did 
in  a  tone  more  grieved  and  sorrowful  than 
stern. 

"  And  where  is  the  locket  now,  Mabel  ? 
Did  you  say  you  cannot  find  it  ?  " 

Mabel  shook  her  head  in  assent 

"  What  have  you  done  with  it  ? "  asked 
Mrs.  Walton,  in  a  tone  that  Mabel  had  never 
known  her  mother  use  to  her  before. 

The  whole  story  was  at  last  drawn  from  the 
child,  accompanied  with  many  sobs  and  tears. 
Belle  put  full  faith  in  all  she  said,  and  almost 
lost  sight  of  her  own  trouble  in  sympathy  for 
Mabel's  distress.  Her  arm  went  back  about 
her  cousin's  neck,  and  her  own  pocke,t-hand- 
kerchief  was  taken  out  to  wipe  away  Mabel's 
tears. 


Confession  and  Repentance*        187 

But  Miss  Asliton  plainly  did  not  believe  her 
story,  and  even  her  own  mother  was  doubtful 
of  its  truth ;  for  it  was  told  with  so  much 
hesitation  and  stammering. 

Mrs.  Walton  turned  to  Miss  Ashton,  with  a 
look  which  the  young  lady  hardly  knew  how 
to  answer,  except  by  one  which  asked  that  the 
children  should  be  sent  away  again  ;  which 
was  done. 

"  You  do  not  believe  what  Mabel  says,  Miss 
Ashton  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Walton. 

"  I  do  not  see  how  it  can  be  so,"  replied 
Miss  Ashton  :  "  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  child 
in  my  class  who  is  not  honest ;  and  they  all 
love  Belle  too  much  to  think  of  teasing  her 
in  any  way.  Moreover,  I  know  that  not  one  of 
them  was  in  the  cloak-room  from  the  time  of 
the  short  recess  till  they  were  dismissed  ;  and 
had  any  child  had  the  will,  I  do  not  see  that 
she  had  the  opportunity,  to  take  the  locket." 

"  But  your  servants  ?  "  questioned  the  anx 
ious  mother. 

Miss  Ashton  shook  her  head  sadly. 


1 88  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

"  My  mother's  two  older  servants  have  been 
with  us  for  years,"  she  said,  "  and  are  quite 
above  suspicion.  The  younger  one,  the  col- 
ored girl,  Marcia,  who  sometimes  waits  on 
the  children,  and  now  and  then  goes  into  the 
cloak-room,  was  not  in  the  house.  Her  sister 
was  sick,  and  she  had  been  allowed  to  go  to 
her  for  the  day.  She  is  not,  I  fear,  strictly 
honest,  and  has  now  and  then  been  detected 
in  picking  and  stealing ;  and,  although  I  have 
never  known  her  to  take  any  thing  of  much 
value,  there  is  no  saying  how  far  temptation 
might  lead  her  ;  but,  as  I  say,  she  was  not  at 
home  at  the  time.  I  grieve  to  distress  you 
farther,  Mrs.  Walton ;  but  I  do  not  see  that 
Mabel's  story  can  be  true." 

"  What  do  you  think  she  has  done  with  the 
locket  ?"  asked  Mrs.  Walton,  in  a  trembling 
voice. 

"  How  could  I  tell,  my  dear  madam  ? "  re- 
plied Miss  Ashton,  looking  with  pity  at  the 
other  lady.  "  It  may  be  that  she  has  really 
lost  it,  but  in   some  other  way  than  the  one 


Confession  and  Repentance.        189 

she  1  elates;  or  it  may  be  —  that  she  has  it 
still." 

"Impossible!"  said  Mrs.  Walton;  but  al- 
though she  said  the  word,  the  tone  of  her 
voice  told  that  she  did  not  believe  it  impos- 
sible. "  Mabel  is  a  troublesome,  spoiled  child, 
I  allow,"  continued  the  poor  mother ;  "  but  I 
have  never  known  her  to  tell  me  a  deliberate 
falsehood,  and  to  make  up  such  a  story  as 
this." 

"  I  will  have  the  school-room  thoroughly 
searched,"  said  Miss  Ashton  ;  "  and  whether 
the  locket  is  found  or  no,  we  will  at  least  give 
Mabel  the  benefit  of  the  doubt,  and  treat  her 
as  if  she  were  not  more  guilty  than  she 
acknowledges  herself  to  be,  unless  it  is  proved 
that  she  knows  more  about  it  than  she  says ; " 
and  then  she  rose,  and,  shaking  hands  with 
Mrs.  Walton,  once  more  said  how  sorry  she 
was  for  the  trouble  she  had  been  obliged  to 
bring  her,  and  went  away. 

Meanwhile  the  two  children  had  gone  back 
to  Belle's  nursery,  where  that  dear  little  girl 


190  Belle  Powers*  Locket, 

set  herself  to  the  task  of  consoling  Mabel  as 
well  as  she  might. 

But  this  was  a  difficult  matter.  So  long  as 
she  had  her  own  way,  Mabel  generally  cared 
little  whether  or  not  people  thought  her  a 
naughty  girl ;  but  as  she  was  really  pretty 
truthful  and  upright,  she  was  now  half-heart- 
broken at  the  idea  of  being  considered  dis- 
honest and  deceitful.  She  could  not  quito 
acquit  herself  of  the  latter,  since  she  had 
taken  advantage  of  Belle's  absence  to  do  that 
^hich  she  would  not  have  done  in  her  pres- 
ence, and  now  she  was  very  much  ashamed  of 
it ;  but  this  seemed  to  her  very  different  from 
telling  a  falsehood,  which  she  plainly  saw  Miss 
Ashton,  and  her  mother  too,  suspected  her  of 
doing. 

She  threw  herself  down  on  the  floor  of  the 
nursery  in  a  passion  of  tears  and  sobs ;  and 
when  Belle,  sitting  down  by  her,  begged  her 
not  to  cry  so,  answered, — 

"  I  will,  I  will :  they  think  I  told  a  story, 
mamma  and  Miss  Ashton  do.    I  can't  bear 


Confession  and  Repentance.        191 

Miss  Ashton,  —  horrid,  old  thing !  She  made 
mamma  think  I  did.  She's  awfully  ugly :  her 
nose  turns  up,  and  I'm  glad  it  does, —  good 
enough  for  her." 

"  Oh  !  Mabel,"  said  Belle,  "  Miss  Ashton's 
nose  don't  turn  up.  It  turns  down  about  as 
much  as  it  turns  up,  I  think.  I  b'lieve  it's  as 
good  as  ours." 

"  I  shan't  think  it  is,"  said  Mabel.  "  I'm 
going  to  think  it  turns  up  about  a  million  of 
miles.  And,  Belle,  'cause  everybody  thinks 
I  took  your  locket  to  keep,  and  told  a  wicked 
story  about  it,  I  shall  never  eat  any  more 
breakfast  or  dinner  or  supper,  but  starve  my- 
self, so  they'll  be  sorry." 

Belle  was  too  well  used  to  such  threats  from 
Mabel  to  be  very  much  alarmed  at  this. 

Mabel  went  on,  trying  to  make  a  deeper 
impression. 

"  I  shan't  ever  eat  any  more  French  sugar- 
plums," then  as  the  recollection  of  a  tempt- 
ing box  of  these  delicacies  came  over  her,  — - 
"  'cept  only  there  are  three  candied  apricots  in 


192  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

the  box  papa  brought  me  last  night.  I'll  eat 
two  of  them,  and  give  you  the  other ;  and  then 
never  eat  another  thing,  'cause  nobody  believes 
me  ;  and  it  is  true,  —  oh  !  it  is." 

"  I  b'lieve  you,  dear,"  said  Belle.  "  I  don't 
think  you  would  be  so  bad  to  me,  —  truly  I 
don't." 

"  Don't  you  ?  "  said  Mabel,  turning  around 
her  flushed,  tear-stained  face  ;  "  then  I'll  give 
you  two  apricots,  Belle,  and  only  keep  one 
myself;  and  then  starve  myself.  You're  real 
good  to  me,  Belle,  and  nobody  else  is.  You're 
the  only  friend  I  have  left  in  the  world,"  she 
concluded  in  a  tragic  whisper,  as  she  sat  up 
and  dried  her  eyes. 

"  I'll  try  to  coax  them  not  to  think  you  did 
mean  to  keep  it  and  tell  a  story  about  it,"  said 
her  little  comforter. 

"  Belle,  what  makes  you  so  good  to  me, 
when  I  was  so  bad  to  you  ?  "   asked  Mabel. 

"  'Cause  I  want  you  to  love  me,  and  be  good 
to  me  too,"  answered  Belle.  "  And,  besides, 
Jesus  don't  want  us  to  be  good  only  to  people 


Confession  and  Repentance.        193 

who  are  good  to  us.  He  wants  us  to  be  good 
to  people  who  are  bad  to  us  too." 

Mabel  sat  looking  at  her  cousin  in  some 
wonder. 

"  Do  you  care  very  much  what  Jesus 
wants  ?  "    she  asked  presently. 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  Belle  :    "  don't  you  ?  " 

"  What  does  He  think  about  me,  I  won- 
der ? "  said  Mabel,  musingly,  without  answer- 
ing Belle's  question,  which  indeed  answered 
itself,  as  the  recollection  of  some  of  her 
cousin's  naughty  freaks  returned  to  her. 
But  she  said  nothing  about  these  ;  for  Mabel's 
speech  brought  a  thought  which  she  hastened 
to  put  into  words,  thinking  that  it  might  give 
the  latter  some  comfort. 

"  Oh  !  Mabel,"  she  said  eagerly, "  He  knows 
all  about  the  locket ;  and  if  you  do  tell  the 
trufj  He  b'lieve?.  you,  and  I  am  sure  He's 
sorry  for  you  to-,  /?ven  if  you  was  a  little 
naughty  about  it." 

It  was   a  pity  that  the  mother  and    the 

governess  were  not  there  to  see  the  way  in 
13 


194  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

which  Mabel's  face  lighted  up.  They  must 
have  been  convinced  that,  however  much  she 
had  been  to  blame,  the  story  she  no^  told  was 
true.  Guilt  could  never  have  worn  that  look 
at  the  thought  that  the  all-seeing  Eye  read 
her  heart  and  believed  in  her  innocence. 

And  if  there  was  any  lingering  doubt  in  little 
Belle's  mind,  it  was  cleared  away  by  that  look. 

"  Now  I  truly  know  she  is  not  telling  a 
story,"  she  said  to  herself,  "  'cause  she  looks 
so  glad  that  Jesus  knows  all  about  it ;  and  if 
she  had,  she  would  be  frightened  to  think  He 
knew  she  was  so  wicked." 

"  It's  nice  to  think  Jesus  knows  about  it  and 
b'lieves  you,  isn't  it  ?  "    she  said  aloud. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mabel ;  "  and  I  love  Him  for 
it,  and  I  do  love  you  too  ;  and  I'll  always  love 
you  till  I'm  all  starved  and  dead.  Belle,  I 
know  you  do  care  what  Jesus  wants,  'cause 
you  try  to  be  good  and  kind.  I've  just  a  good 
mind  to  try  too.  Maybe  if  I  do,  He'll  make 
them  find  out  where  that  locket  went  to." 

Now  perhaps  Mabel's  two  resolutions  did 


Confession  and  Repentance.        195 

not  agree  very  well  the  one  with  the  other; 
but  there  was  no  fear  that  the  first  would  hold 
good  longer  than  till  supper-time,  nor  was  the 
hope  of  reward  for  herself  the  best  motive  for 
the  second.  But  Belle,  and  perhaps  a  higher 
ear  than  little  Belle's,  was  glad  to  hear  her 
say  this  ;  and  indeed  it  was  a  token  for  good. 
For  Mabel  was  beginning  to  see  the  beauty 
and  sweetness  of  Belle's  conduct,  and  the 
warmth  and  light  of  her  example  were  taking 
effect  on  that  perverse  and  selfish  little  heart. 
Belle  was  proving  a  "  sunbeam  "  to  Mabel, 
though  she  did  not  know  it  herself. 


XIII. 


MABEL'S   GENEROSITY. 


T  would  be  impossible  to  tell  how 
troubled  and  disturbed  poor  Mrs. 
Walton  was  by  Miss  Ashton's  story. 
So  was  Mr.  Walton  when  he  came  home  and 
heard  it.  It  was  hard  to  think  that  their  own 
and  only  child  could  be  guilty  of  such  a  thing ; 
and  yet  suspicion  pointed  so  strongly  towards 
her  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  believe 
otherwise.  They  talked  it  over  between  them- 
selves, and  with  Mr.  Powers  when  he  came ; 
and  then  the  children  were  called,  and  told  to 
repeat  all  they  knew  once  more. 

Mabel's  story  was  in  no  way  different  from 


MabeVs  Generosity,  197 

that  she  had  told  before,  save  that  it  was 
given  with  far  less  hesitation  and  difficulty, 
but  in  no  other  respect  did  it  vary  from  the 
first ;  and  here  was  ground  for  hope  that  it 
was  true. 

Belle,  too,  told  her  tale  with  the  same 
straightforwardness  and  simplicity  that  she 
had  done  before,  but  it  threw  no  light  on 
what  was  so  dark ;  and,  as  she  had  done  from 
the  first,  she  carefully  avoided  throwing  any 
blame  on  her  cousin,  and  concluded  in  these 
words,  uttered  in  a  pleading  voice  :  — 

"  Please,  papa,  and  uncle,  and  Aunt  Fanny, 
don't  believe  Mabel  took  my  locket  to  keep :  I 
don't  believe  she  did,  not  one  bit ;  and  I  don't 
want  any  one  else  to  think  she  did." 

"  Why  do  you  think  she  did  not,  dear  ? " 
asked  Mr.  Walton. 

"  First  I  tried  not  to  think  she  did,"  said 
Belle  ;  "  and  then  when  I  told  her  Jesus  knew 
if  she  was  telling  the  truf,  she  was  glad,  and 
felt  better  about  it,  so  that  made  me  quite 
sure.     If  she  had  hidden  it  on  purpose  to  keep 


198  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

it,  she  would  be  afraid  if  she  thought  Jesug 
knew  it." 

Her  words  brought  great  comfort  and  new 
hope  to  the  father  and  mother. 

"  Let's  all  think  she  didn't  do  it,  unless  we 
have  to  be  very,  very  sure  she  did ;  and  please 
kiss  her,  and  make  up  with  her,  Aunt  Fanny, 
'cause  she  feels  so  bad  about  it,"  persisted 
Belle,  drawing  her  cousin  forward,  as  she 
stood  hanging  her  head,  half-sullen,  half- 
shamefaced,  and  sorrowful  at  the  suspicion 
she  felt  cast  upon  her.  "  Aunt  Fanny,  if  1 
had  my  own  mamma  here  with  me,  I  would 
feel  very  dreadful  to  know  she  thought  I  hid 
something  to  steal  it,  and  told  ever  so  many 
stories  about  it." 

Who  could  resist  her  ? 

Not  the  mother  certainly!  who,  only  too 
glad  to  believe  her  child  innocent  of  more  than 
she  had  acknowledged,  put  her  arms  about  her 
and  gave  her  a  kiss  of  forgiveness ;  while 
Mabel  laid  her  head  against  her  mamma's 
shoulder,  and  cried  there  such  gentle,  penitent 


MabeVs  Generosity,  199 

tears  as  she  had  seldom  shed  before.  For  the 
sweeter  and  kinder  Belle  was  to  her,  the  more 
deeply  repentant  she  felt  for  the  wrong  she 
had  really  done  her.  And  not  for  the  matter 
of  the  locket  alone  did  she  sorrow :  she 
remembered  and  felt  remorseful  for  many 
another  selfish,  unkind  act  and  speech,  and 
she  could  not  but  contrast  with  shame  her 
cousin's  conduct  with  her  own. 

"  Dear,  little  Belle  !  "  said  her  uncle  :  "  hers 
is  the  charity  that '  thinketh  no  evil.'  " 

Mr.  Walton  said  this,  knowing  nothing  of 
the  rules  by  which  Belle  had  lately  tried  to 
govern  her  behaviour  to  Mabel  as  well  as  to 
others. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Powers,  drawing  his  little 
daughter  fondly  towards  him,  and  kissing  her 
forehead,  — "  yes,  I  believe  Belle  is  really 
trying  for  that  charity  which  may  keep  us  in 
love  and  peace  with  God  and  man." 

"  Papa,"  whispered  Belle,  with  her  arms 
about  his  neck,  u  it  used  to  be  real  hard  not 
to  think  Mabel  was  the  spoildest,  worst  child 


200  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

that  ever  lived,  and  that  would  do  all  kinds 
of  bad  things  ;  and  now  I  don't  like  to  think 
that  about  her,  or  to  have  other  people  think 
so.  Is  that  'cause  I  tried  to  have  love-charity 
for  her  ?  Bessie  said  it  was  when  I  told 
her." 

"  Yes,  darling,  I  think  so." 

"  And,  papa,  Maggie  said  one  of  her  nice, 
pleasant-sounding  things.  She  said  when  we 
were  like  sunbeams  ourselves  it  made  things 
look  bright  and  good  that  would  look  ugly 
and  dark  if  we  were  not  nice  and  bright  our- 
selves. Maggie  makes  sunniness  and  shiny- 
ness  herself,  and  so  does  Bessie  ;  and  they  try 
all  they  can  to  think  people  wouldn't  do  bad 
things." 

After  the  children  had  been  dismissed  for 
the  night,  there  was  some  discussion  between 
their  parents  whether  or  no  it  would  be  better 
for  Mabel  to  go  to  school  till  the  mystery  was 
cleared  up;  but  it  was  at  last  decided  that 
there  should  be  no  change,  and  she  should  go 
as  usual. 


Mabel's  Generosity,  201 

"  If  she  will,"  said  Mrs.  Walton,  to  which 
her  husband  replied, — 

"  I  think,  my  dear,  it  is  time  that  Mabel 
was  learning  to  do  what  she  must,  and  not 
what  she  will.  I  fear  we  have  ourselves  to 
blame  for  much  of  this  trouble,  which  has 
arisen  from  the  wilfulness  and  selfishness  we 
have  too  long  overlooked." 

But  Mabel  was  so  subdued  by  her  trouble, 
and  by  her  sorrow  for  her  past  misconduct  to 
Belle,  that  she  offered  no  resistance  to  going 
to  school  the  next  day,  further  than  to  say 
she  did  not  want  to  go. 

"  Oh,  yes,  dear !  "  said  her  father :  "  there 
is  no  reason  why  you  should  not." 

"  I'm  afraid  the  children  won't  believe  me 
about  Belle's  locket,"  she  whispered ;  "  and 
they'll  look  at  me." 

"  But  if  you  stay  away  it  would  seem  as  if 
you  were  really  guilty,"  said  Mr.  Walton. 
"I  do  not  think  your  school-mates  will  be 
unkind  to  you ;  and  if  they  are,  you  must  bear 
it    as   a   part   of   the   punishment   for    your 


202  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

naughtiness  to  Belle.  Mamma  and  I  think 
it  better  you  should  go.  If  you  are  innocent, 
you  need  not  be  afraid." 

And  Mabel,  quite  broken-spirited,  submitted 
without  any  of  the  loud  outcries  with  which 
she  usually  met  any  opposition  to  her  wishes. 

"  I  know  that  they'll  all  be  mad  at  me,  and 
point  at  me,  and  every  thing,"  she  sobbed,  as 
she  started  for  school  with  Belle  and  the  two 
nurses. 

"  If  any  of  them  are  so  bad  to  you,  I  will 
tell  them  to  have  '  love-charity  ; '  and  if  they 
don't,  I  won't  be  friends  with  them  any  more, 
but  be  very  offended  with  them  indeed,"  said 
Belle,  forgetting  that  her  new  rule  could  work 
more  ways  than  one,  and  hold  good  for  others 
than  Mabel.  Just  now  she  was  so  full  of  for- 
giving pity  and  sympathy  for  her  cousin  that 
she  thought  only  of  helping  her  and  doing 
battle  in  her  behalf. 

Mabel's  fears  were  well  founded,  as  it 
proved.  She  was  met  with  looks  askance, 
and  cold  words ;  while  Belle  was  greeted  with 


MabeVs  Generosity.  203 

a  more  than  usual  share  of  affection.  And 
Dora  Johnson,  who  was  not  very  careful  of 
other  people's  feelings,  and  was  apt  to  say 
rather  rude  and  unkind  things  without  much 
thought,  said  in  a  whisper,  loud  enough  for 
Mabel  to  hear,  — 

"  Before  I'd  come  to  school  if  I  was  a 
locket-thief! " 

Belle  heard  this  too,  and  at  once  fired  up 
in  Mabel's  defence. 

"  Before  I  would  too,  and  before  Mabel 
would ! "  she  said,  her  bright  eyes  flashing 
with  indignation  as  she  took  her  cousin's 
hand  in  a  protecting  manner  ;  "  and  because 
she  isn't  a  thief  is  the  reason  she  comes ;  and 
she  only  took  it  out  of  my  desk  to  look  at,  and 
didn't  mean  to  steal  it  a  bit.  But  somebody 
else  must  have  :  I  don't  know  who.  And  if 
everybody  don't  be  friends  with  her,  they 
needn't  be  friends  with  me  either ;  and  I 
won't  have  'em,  but  will  be  awfully  mad 
with  'em." 

Belle's  speech  was  not  perhaps  very  cohe- 


204  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

rent ;  but  it  was  understood  by  all,  and  had  its 
effect.  For  since  she  believed  that  Mabel  had 
not  the  locket,  the  rest  thought  that  she  must 
have  some  good  reason  for  her  faith  ;  and  no 
more  was  said  in  words,  though  poor  Mabel 
could  not  but  feel  that  she  was  curiously  and 
suspiciously  gazed  at  by  every  child  in  the 
school,  as  if  they  expected  to  read  her  guilt 
or  innocence  written  on  her  face.  .  Still,  on 
the  whole,  matters  were  not  so  bad  as  she  had 
feared  they  would  be.  Miss  Ash  ton  was  as 
kind  and  gentle  as  usual,  and,  like  her  own 
family,  seemed  to  wish  to  believe  her  innocent 
till  she  was  proved  guilty ;  while  Belle  was 
more  affectionate  and  patronizing  than  she 
had  ever  been  before,  and  returned  with 
reproachful  or  defiant  looks  every  cold  or 
scornful  glance  that  fell  to  Mabel's  share. 
The  search  of  the  cloak-room  for  the  missing 
treasure  had  proved  quite  fruitless.  Miss 
Ashton  had  taken  the  trouble  to  have  every 
thing  moved  from  the  room,  the  floor  had 
been  thoroughly  swept,  and  even  the  corners 


MabcVs  Generosity,  205 

and  edges  of  the  carpet  turned  up ;  but  all  in 
vain.  There  was  no  trace  of  the  lost  locket ; 
and  Miss  Ashton  and  her  mother  had  decided 
that  they  could  only  wait  and  see  what  time 
would  do.  Whoever  had  taken  it,  such  a 
thing  could  not  remain  long  hidden :  it  must 
be  discovered  and  brought  home  to  the  guilty 
child. 

So  Miss  Ashton  told  Mrs.  Walton  when 
she  called  to  see  her  again  on  this  unhappy 
matter ;  and  she  would  not  say,  though  she 
gave  Mabel  the  benefit  of  the  doubt,  that  in 
her  heart  she  believed  her  to  be  that  child  ; 
and  the  mother  could  only  hope  and  pray  that 
it  might  not  be  so. 

Still  it  was  a  most  uncomfortable  and 
unhappy  matter.  Such  a  thing  had  never 
happened  before  in  the  little  school ;  and  it 
was  sad  to  believe  that  there  was  a  thief 
among  that  young  group. 

But  good  was  brought  out  of  all  this  dis- 
comfort and  unhappiness.  The  change  in 
Mabel  was  surprising  as  well  as  encouraging 


206  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

She  clung  to  Belle,  and  to  Belle's  faith  in  her, 
in  a  way  that  was  really  touching,  and  which 
went  far  to  convince  her  friends  and  teacher 
that  she  was  really  innocent  of  more  than  she 
had  confessed.  And,  contrary  to  her  usual 
custom,  she  did  not  try  to  excuse  herself  for 
what  she  had  done,  but  was  truly  penitent, 
and  ready  to  acknowledge  that  this  trouble 
had  arisen  from  her  own  fault.  If  Belle 
would  have  taken  them,  she  would  have  thrust 
upon  her  all  her  own  possessions ;  and  now 
whenever  she  saw  a  pretty  thing,  she  wanted 
it,  not  for  herself,  but  for  Belle,  and  was  con- 
stantly begging  her  papa  and  mamma  to  buy 
this,  that,  and  the  other  for  her  little  cousin. 
And  as  she  became  more  and  more  unselfish 
and  yielding  towards  Belle,  she  became  so 
towards  others,  and  more  obedient  and  docile 
to  her  parents  ;  till  the  self-willed,  outrageous, 
spoiled  elf  seemed  really  changing  and  quiet- 
ing down  into  a  tolerably  well-behaved,  rea- 
sonable little  child. 

That  she  was  really  repentant  and  desirous 


MabeVs  Generosity,  207 

to  make  amends  to  Belle,  she  showed  in  a 
very  decided  manner  when  her  birthday  came 
around,  as  it  did  about  three  weeks  after  the 
loss  of  the  locket. 

At  this  time  her  Grandmamma  Walton 
was  accustomed  to  send  her  two  gold  half- 
eagles  ;  a  large  sum  for  a  child  like  Mabel,  and 
which  the  old  lady  probably  supposed  was  put 
away  with  care,  or  used  to  some  good  purpose 
But  hitherto  it  had  always  been  frittered  away 
in  toys,  candies,  and  so  forth,  Mabel  claiming 
such  and  such  portions  of  it  to  spend  when 
some  trifle  struck  her  fancy. 

At  the  time  the  locket  was  first  lost,  her 
mother  had  told  her  that  it  would  be  a  good 
thing  if  she  should  spend  the  money  which 
would  come  on  her  next  birthday  on  a  new 
one  for  Belle  ;  and  Mabel  had  readily  agreed. 
But  Mr.  Walton,  knowing  nothing  of  her 
good  intentions,  had  bought  a  handsome 
locket,  and  given  it  to  Belle  to  take  the  place, 
as  far  as  might  be,  of  the  one  which  was 
gone.     Belle  had  thanked   him  prettily,  and 


2o8  Belle  Powers''  Locket, 

admired  the  gift ;  then  gave  it  to  Daphne  to 
put  away. 

"  Where  I  can't  see  it,  Daffy,  'cause  it 
makes  me  feel  like  crying  when  I  think  it 
was  not  a  bit  my  own  mamma's  like  that 
other  one  I  lost." 

It  was  in  vain  that  Daphne  tried  to  per- 
suade her  to  wear  it :  the  child  seemed  to  have 
a  half  romantic,  but  touching  sensitiveness 
on  the  subject,  which  could  not  be  overcome. 

But  Belle  now  having  her  uncle's  gift, 
Mrs.  Walton  told  Mabel  that  she  could  spend 
the  money  in  some  other  way  to  gratify  her 
cousin ;  and  Mabel  thought  of  first  one  thing, 
then  another,  which  she  could  purchase  for 
Belle. 

But  she  had  not  yet  decided  upon  any 
thing  when  her  birthday  came,  and  with  it 
the  usual  gift  from  her  grandmother.  Run- 
ning into  Belle's  nursery  on  that  morning,  she 
found  her  little  cousin  standing  by  the  side 
of  old  Daphne,  who,  with  her  hands  over  her 
face,  was  rocking  herself  to  and  fro,  moan- 


MabeVs  Generosity,  209 

ing  and  crying,  while  Belle  seemed  to  be 
trying  to  comfort  her.  Near  by  stood  another 
colored  woman,  looking  troubled  also,  though 
not  in  the  deep  distress  which  Daphne  showed. 
In  Daphne's  lap  laid  the  contents  of  Belle's 
little  purse  and  money-box,  —  pennies,  five 
and  ten  cent  pieces,  and  so  forth. 

Mabel  stood  a  moment  in  wonder  at  this 
unusual  state  of  affairs  ;  and  then,  full  of  the 
business  which  had  brought  her,  broke  forth 
with,  — 

"Belle!  Belle!  Make  Daphne  dress  you 
very  quick.  Papa  is  going  to  take  us  out  to 
buy  something  very  nice  for  you  with  a  whole 
lot  of  money  grandmamma  sent  me  ;  and  then 
he  is  going  to  take  us  for  a  nice  long  drive  in 
the  Park,  and  let  us  run  about  and  feed  the 
swans  and  see  the  animals.  Make  haste ! 
make  haste  !  " 

Belle  shook  her  head  sorrowfully. 

"  I  can't  leave  Daphne,  Mabel,"  she  said. 

"  She  has  a  great  trouble.      Somebody  went 

and  did  something  naughty,  and  the  people 
14 


210  Belle  Powers'  Locket* 

thought  it  was  Daphne's  boy,"  —  Daphne's 
boy  was  her  grandson,  —  "  and  they've  taken 
him  to  prison  ;  but  this  woman  knew  it  wasn't 
him,  and  they  say  he  can  come  out  if  he  can 
get  a  whole  lot  of  money ;  and  this  woman 
came  to  tell  Daphne  ;  but  she  hasn't  money 
enough,  and  I  haven't  either,  and  papa  has 
gone  away  to  Philadelphia,  and  won't  come 
back  till  day  after  to-morrrow  ;  and  what  can 
we  do  ?  "  and  Belle's  eyes  filled,  as  she  told 
the  story  of  her  old  nurse's  trouble. 

"  And  won't  you  come  ?  "  said  Mabel. 

"  No,  thank  you,  Mabel :  I  couldn't." 

"  Now  go,  and  take  yer  pleasure,  my 
honey,"  said  Daphne,  ever-mindful  of  her  little 
lady's  happiness.     "  I'll  make  you  ready." 

"  No,  no,  Daffy :  I  couldn't  leave  you.  Oh  ! 
I  do  wish  papa  was  home.  He  would  fix  it 
all,  and  get  poor  Peter  out  of  prison.  You 
are  real  good,  Mabel ;  but  I  couldn't  care 
much  about  the  very  prettiest  present  if  I 
had  to  leave  Daphne  all  alone  when  she  is 
so  sorry." 


MabeVs  Generosity.  21 1 

Mabel  hesitated,  and  thought  of  those  two 
bright  golden  pieces.  Here  was  a  chance  to 
give  Belle  a  real  pleasure,  if  she  chose.  She 
knew  Belle  well  enough  to  feel  sure  that  she 
would  far  rather  help  her  old  nurse  out  of 
this  trouble  than  to  have  the  most  beautiful 
gift  for  herself;  and  Mabel  believed  that  any 
thing  might  be  done  with  that  sum  of  money, 
which  was  her  own  to  spend  as  she  pleased. 

But,  as  we  know,  Mabel  and  Daphne  had 
never  been,  and  were  not  yet,  the  best  of 
friends  ;  and  it  was  partly  Daphne's  fault  too. 
She  had  no  faith  in  Mabel's  improvement, 
and  watched  with  disdainful  and  unbelieving 
eyes  her  little  attempts  to  be  less  selfish  and 
wilful.  And  Mabel  knew  this,  and  returned 
the  old  woman's  dislike  with  all  her  little 
might.  So  how  could  she  resolve  to  give  up 
her  cherished  plan  for  Daphne's  relief  ?  To 
be  sure,  it  would  give  Belle  more  pleasure, 
but  it  would  give  far  less  to  herself;  and, 
indeed,  she  was  not  quite  sure  that  she  did 
not  feel  just  the  least  satisfaction  in  Daphne's 
trouble. 


212  Belle  Powers^  Locket, 

"  It  serves  her  right  for  being  so  cross  to 
me  all  the  time,"  she  said  to  herself;  but 
then  came  a  feeling  of  shame  at  the  unkind 
thought,  and  she  was  glad  that  Belle  did  not 
know  of  it. 

"  Belle  would  give  the  money  if  it  was 
hers,  to  get  Peter  out  of  prison,  I  know,"  she 
thought,  nothing  doubting  that  the  two  half- 
eagles  could  do  this ;  "  and  maybe  it  would 
be  the  best  way  to  show  her  I  do  love  her,  and 
am  sorry  for  being  so  naughty  to  her  about 
the  locket.  I'll  just  do  it ;  but  I  better  do  it 
pretty  quick  or  I'll  change  my  mind  about  it, 
'cause  I  don't  want  to  one  bit." 

She  rushed  from  the  room,  leaving  Belle  to 
think  that  she  was  vexed  at  her  refusal  to  go 
out  with  her ;  but  in  two  minutes  she  was 
back  with  the  gold  pieces,  which  she  thrust 
into  Belle's  hand,  saying,  — 

"  There,  Belle,  if  you  would  rather  take 
that  black  boy  out  of  prison  than  have  a 
pretty  present  for  you  and  me  to  play  with, 
you  may.     I  will  give  you  my  money  for  it ; 


MabeVs  Generosity.  213 

but  I  don't  do  it  'cause  I  love  Daphne,  not 
one  bit." 

It  was  not  a  very  gracious  way  of  bestow- 
ing a  favor,  it  was  true ;  but  it  was  such  a 
piece  of  unwonted  self-denial  from  Mabel  that 
her  hearers  were  all  taken  by  surprise,  and 
did  not  know  what  to  say.  Belle  stood  with 
the  gold  pieces  in  her  open  hand,  looking  from 
them  to  Mabel,  and  then  at  Daphne,  who  was 
looking  amazed  and  bewildered  in  her  turn. 

But  now  Mrs.  Walton  appeared. 

"When  Mabel  had  run  back  to  her  mamma's 
room  for  her  half-eagles,  as  she  took  them 
from  her  box  she  told  some  incoherent  story, 
which  Mrs.  Walton  had  not  understood,  but 
which  speedily  brought  her  after  her  little 
girl  to  see  what  was  to  be  the  fate  of  the 
money.  There  was  no  knowing  what  freak 
might  have  taken  the  child. 

"  I  want  Belle  to  take  those  to  bring 
Daphne's  black  boy  out  of  prison,  mamma; 
and  she  seems  as  if  she  didn't  want  to,"  said 
Mabel,  half-pouting. 


?I4  Belle  Powers*  Locket, 

Then  Daphne  understood ;  and,  rising, 
courtesied  to  Mrs.  Walton,  and  told  her 
story;  ending  by  saying  that  she  had  not 
known  what  Miss  Mabel  meant,  and  she 
begged  Mrs.  Walton's  pardon,  and  she  had 
not  thought  of  taking  the  child's  money: 
"  Bress  her  heart !  an'  I  didn't  desarve  it, 
cos  I  did  take  such  a  scunner  at  her." 

Mrs.  Walton  seized  Mabel  in  her  arms,  and 
covered  her  with  kisses ;  while  she  lavished 
upon  her  the  most  extravagant  words  of 
praise  and  admiration.  Mabel  had  expected 
this  when  her  mother  should  come  to  hear  of 
her  offer  to  Daphne  ;  and,  more  than  this,  she 
had  been  farther  helped  to  make  it  by  the 
belief  that  her  mother  would  not  let  her  be 
a  loser. 

"  But  you  shall  not  spend  your  birthday 
gift  for  that,  my  darling,"  she  said :  "  perhaps 
papa  can  see  to  it  until  Uncle  Frederick  comes 
home.  We  will  go  and  ask  him,  and  tell  him 
what  a  good,  generous  girl  you  are.', 

Far  wiser  would  it  have  been  if  Mrs.  Wal- 


MabeVs  Generosity,  215 

ton  had  let  Mabel  learn  to  do  good  to  others 
by  making  some  sacrifice  of  her  own  wishes ; 
but  she  could  not  bear  to  have  her  darling 
deprived  of  the  slightest  pleasure,  on  this  day 
of  all  others.  So  bidding  Daphne  take  heart 
till  she  should  see  what  Mr.  Walton  said,  she 
took  both  children  with  her  to  tell  him  the 
story. 

Mr.  Walton  listened,  and  then  kindly  said 
he  would  go  and  find  out  the  truth  of  the  case 
at  once ;  and  if  he  thought  it  right,  he  would 
give  bail  for  the  lad,  for  that  was  what  was 
needed. 

"  But,"  he  said,  "  if  I  do  this,  I  should  go  at 
once,  that  Daphne  and  her  boy  may  not  be 
kept  in  misery  longer  than  is  necessary ;  and 
then  my  little  girls  must  lose  their  promised 
morning  in  the  Park.  The  promise  was  made 
to  you  first :  are  you  both  willing  to  give  up 
this  pleasure  for  Daphne's  sake  ?  " 

There  was  no  doubt  about  Belle ;  but,  as 
Mr.  Walton  added,  "  it  was  Mabel's  birthday, 
and  she  must  decide." 


216  Belle  Powers^  Locket. 

Now  indeed  Mabel's  generosity  and  self 
denial  were  put  to  the  proof,  certainly  far 
more  than  Belle's.  The  latter  loved  her 
faithful  old  nurse  too  dearly  to  hesitate  for 
one  instant ;  and,  even  had  it  not  been  so,  the 
sacrifice  was  by  no  means  so  great  for  her  as 
for  Mabel.  The  Park  with  all  its  attractions 
was  no  new  thing  to  Belle  :  many  a  drive  and 
ramble  had  she  had  there ;  but  to  Mabel, 
who  was  a  stranger  in  the  city,  it  was  not  so 
familiar,  and  had  not  yet  lost  its  first  charm 
for  her.  And  she  had.  been  so  delighted  with 
the  thought  of  passing  the  morning  there.' 
How  could  she  give  it  up  for  Daphne  ? 

Her  father  waited  for  her  answer,  and 
would  not  let  his  wife  speak  when  she  would 
have  proposed  some  other  plan  ;  Belle  watched 
her  with  wistful  eyes  ;  and  she  could  not  make 
up  her  mind  to  the  sacrifice.  She  hesitated, 
pouted,  frowned ;  and  there  were  all  the 
signs  of  a  coming  storm. 

"  Yery  well,"  said  her  father,  gravely.  "  I 
had  hoped  that  my  Mabel  was  really  learning 


MabeVs  Generosity .  217 

to  care  a  little  for  others,  but  I  fear  it  is  not 
so.  It  must  be  as  she  decides.  We  will  go 
for  our  pleasure,  leaving  Daphne's  boy  to  stay 
another  day  in  prison,  for  I  have  other  busi- 
ness to  attend  to  later  in  the  day  ;  or  we  will 
give  up  this  little  treat  to  save  her  and  him 
much  suffering.     Which  shall  it  be,  Mabel  ?  " 

"  I  said  she  could  have  my  birthday  money," 
whimpered  Mabel ;  "  and  mamma  said  I  was 
as  generous  as  any  thing." 

"  Ah  !  it  did  not  cost  you  much  to  give  up 
the  money,  my  child,"  said  her  father.  "  You 
and  Belle  have  more  toys  and  pretty  things 
now  than  you  know  what  to  do  with  ;  but  you 
are  not  generous  enough  to  give  up  that  on 
which  you  have  really  set  your  heart." 

Mabel  looked  over  at  Belle  once  more,  and 
as  she  met  the  beseeching  look  in  her  eyes 
remembered  that  here  was  really  the  chance 
to  show  her  cousin  that  she  wished  to  make 
up  for  her  past  unkindness. 

She  dropped  the  pocket-handkerchief  which 
she  was  pettishly  twisting  into  a  string,  low 


2l8 


Belle  Powers'  Locket, 


ered  her  raised  shoulders,  and  running  to 
Belle  threw  her  arms  about  her  neck,  and 
said,  — 

"  We'll  give  up  the  Park,  and  let  papa  go 
to  let  out  Peter,  Belle,  —  so  we  will.  I'll  be 
generous,  even  if  I  don't  want  to." 

So  it  was  settled,  and  Mr.  Walton  went  on 
his  errand  of  mercy ;  of  which  I  need  say  no 
more  than  that  it  was  successful,  and  Peter 
set  free,  to  the  joy  of  Belle  and  Daphne. 


XIV. 


FOUND. 

FORTNIGHT,  three,  four,  five  weeks 
passed  away ;  and  still  nothing  had 
been  seen  or  heard  of  Belle's  lost 
treasure.  For  the  first  few  days  the  children 
could  talk  of  nothing  else ;  and  it  was  only 
Belle's  determination  to  stand  fast  by  her 
cousin  and  take  her  part,  that  prevented  them 
from  treating  Mabel  with  open  slights  and 
coldness.  Dark  looks  and  cool  words  would 
certainly  have  fallen  to  her  portion,  but  for 
Belle ;  and  she  knew  and  felt  this,  and  it  is 
only  justice  to  her  to  say  that  she  was  grateful 
to  Belle  accordingly. 

But   by  and  by  the  affair   became   an  old 


220  Belle  Powers^  Locket. 

story,  as  every  thing  does  in  time,  and  the 
children  ceased  to  wonder  over  it ;  and  Mabel, 
though  never  much  of  a  favorite,  was  allowed 
to  come  with  them  and  join  in  their  games  as 
usual.  Only  the  little  cousins  thought  much 
about  the  locket ;  Belle  still  grieving  over  her 
loss,  and  Mabel  mourning  it  almost  as  much, 
with  a  feeling  of  guilt  and  shame  added  to 
her  sorrow  for  her  cousin's  sake. 

Perhaps  nothing  could  have  done  Mabel 
more  good  than  this  sense  of  the  wrong  she 
had  done  her  cousin :  it  made  her  see  how 
indulgence  in  selfishness  and  wilfulness  may 
bring  trouble  and  distress  which  we  never 
intended  or  dreamt  of  in  our  perverse  mood. 
Moreover  she  felt  abashed  whenever  she  re- 
membered that  the  most,  if  not  all  of  her 
school-mates,  and  perhaps  her  teacher  too, 
believed  her  guilty  of  even  theft.  It  is  not 
usually  good  for  people  to  be  unjustly  sus- 
pected ;  but  in  this  case  it  did  Mabel  no  harm. 
It  made  her  less  exacting  and  domineering  at 
school,  and  the  wish  to  make  amends  to  Belle 


Found,  221 

male  her  more  yielding  and  unselfish  at  home. 
So  her  old  bad  habits  were  somewhat  broken 
in  upon,  and  the  praise  and  credit  which  she 
gained  from  her  parents  and  little  cousin  were 
so  pleasing  to  her  that  they  caused  her  to 
persevere  and  try  to  do  still  better.  It  was 
not  the  best  motive  for  improvement,  to  be 
sure ;  but  it  was  something  gained  in  the 
right  way ;  and  by  and  by  Mabel  came  to  the 
discovery  that  she  was  really  happier  when 
she  was  good  than  when  she  was  naughty. 

One  day  when  she  and  Belle  were  paying  a 
visit  to  Maggie  and  Bessie,  she  gave  what  the 
other  children  considered  a  very  striking  in- 
stance of  improvement.  She  had  brought 
with  her  a  very  beautiful  doll,  and  to  this  doll 
little  Annie  had  taken  a  desperate  fancy  ;  but 
it  was  not  thought  safe  to  trust  it  to  her  hold, 
although  she  begged  for  it  piteously.  Baby 
though  she  was,  Annie  knew  that  she  never 
obtained  any  thing  by  screaming  for  it ;  but 
she  pleaded  for  the  doll,  which  was  held 
beyond    her  reach,   with   kisses    and    many 


222  Belle  Powers^  Locket. 

pretty,  broken  words,  till  it  was  hard  to  resist 
her ;  while  Mabel  was  surprised  that  she  did 
not  scream  and  cry  for  that  which  she  wanted 
so  much,  and  could  not  help  thinking  that  the 
little  one  behaved  far  better  than  she  would 
have  done  herself.  And  at  length  her  heart 
was  moved  so  that  she  could  refuse  Annie  no 
longer,  although  no  one  had  thought  her 
unreasonable  to  do  so. 

"  S'pose  I  sit  down  here  on  the  rug  by 
Annie,  and  let  her  hold  it  while  I  watch  her 
very  carefully,"  she  said  to  Nurse,  who  was 
vainly  trying  to  divert  baby's  attention  by  offer- 
ing her  every  thing  else  proper  for  her  to  have. 

"  I  don't  know,  dear,"  said  Mammy, 
divided  between  the  wish  to  indulge  her 
pet,  and  the  fear  that  the  doll  would  come 
to  harm  in  Annie's  keeping. 

"  I'll  be  very  careful  of  it,"  said  Mabel. 
"  Put  her  down  here  by  me,  and  I'll  teach  her 
how  to  hold  it  nicely." 

Nurse  obeyed,  and  the  baby  was  made 
happy;    while   her   little    sisters    and    Belle 


Found.  223 

looked  on  in  pleased  surprise  at  Mabel's 
novel  generosity. 

"  Mabel,"  said  Maggie,  "  I'm  going  to  make 
you  a  compliment ;  and  it  is  that  I  never  saw 
a  child  improve  more  than  you  do  'most  every 
day.  I  expect  one  of  these  days  you'll  be 
quite  a  benefactor." 

"  I  expect  she  will  too,"  said  Belle. 
"  What  does  it  mean  ?  " 

"  Somebody  who  is  very  generous  and  does 
a  great  many  kind  things  for  people,"  said 
Maggie. 

"  Then  I'm  certain  you  and  Bessie  are 
benefactors,"  said  Belle,  pronouncing  the 
long  word  slowly,  as  if  she  were  not  quite 
sure  of  it. 

"  We  try  to  be,"  answered  Maggie,  de- 
murely. 

"  I'm  sure  you  are  too,  Belle,"  said  Bessie. 

"  Yes  :  she  just  is,"  said  Mabel.  "  But  I 
s'pose  you  don't  think  I  am  one." 

"  Um  —  well  —  not  quite,"  said  Bessie, 
not  wishing  to  hurt  Mabel's  feelings,  but  too 


224  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

truthful  to  say  what  she  did  not  think ;  "  but 
we  have  great  hopes  of  you,  Mabel.  We 
think  it  was  pretty  benef acting  of  you  to  let 
Baby  Annie  have  your  new  doll  in  her  own 
hands.     It  must  have  been  pretty  hard  work." 

"  Yes,"  said  Maggie :  "  we  didn't  expect 
it  of  you,  Mabel ;  and  we're  very  agreeably 
disappointed  in  you." 

Praise  from  her  playmates  was  something 
quite  new  and  very  pleasant  to  Mabel,  and 
she  began  to  feel  pretty  well  pleased  with 
herself. 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  with  an  air  of  superior 
virtue,  "  I  b'lieve  I'm  growing  pretty  good 
now." 

"  You  oughtn't  to  say  that,"  said  Bessie : 
"  you  ought  to  say,  i  Perhaps  I  am  a  little  bet- 
ter than  I  used  to  be,  but  I  hope  I'll  be  better 
yet.'  " 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  Mabel,  feeling  that  she 
was  not  properly  appreciated  in  her  new 
character. 

"  Because,'"  answered  Bessie,  "  it  is  not  the 


Found.  225 

fashion  for  people  to  talk  about  their  own 
goodness.  They  ought  to  wait  and  let  other 
people  do  it." 

"  Well,"  said  Mabel,  "  I'm  sure  you  were 
doing  it ;  and  so  why  can't  I  do  it  too  ? " 

"  But  it's  yourself,  you  know,"  said  Maggie  ; 
"  and  because  4  every  crow  thinks  her  own 
young  one  the  blackest,'  that  is  not  any 
reason  for  her  to  talk  about  it." 

"  Crows  caw,  not  talk,  Maggie,"  said  Bessie, 
the  matter  of  fact. 

"  Oh,  well !  "  said  Maggie,  "  the  lesson  out 
of  the  proverb  is  all  the  same." 

"  I  didn't  mean  to  be  proud  about  it,"  said 
Mabel,  quite  humbly ;  "  but  I  couldn't  help 
feeling  a  little  nice  when  I  thought  I  wasn't 
so  naughty  as  I  used  to  be.  Mamma  says  I 
am  better,  and  papa  says  so  too." 

"And  we  say  so  too,"  said  Bessie,  kissing 

her,  the  first  kiss  she  had  ever  given  her  of 

her  own  free  will ;  "  and  we  are  very  glad  of 

it,  Mabel." 

"  I  think  it  was  Belle  that  made  me  a  better 
15 


226  Belle  Powers'1  Locket. 

girl,"  said  Mabel :  "  she  was  so  good  to  me,  1 
had  to  be.  'Least  she  was  pretty  mad  with 
me  at  first :  wasn't  you,  Belle  ?  And  before 
I  did  a  thing  to  her  too  ;  but  afterwards  she 
was  real  good  to  me.  And  you  and  Maggie 
were  good  to  me  too ;  and  everybody  liked 
you,  so  I  thought  it  must  be  nice  to  be  good, 
and  I  would  be  too.  And  I  b'lieve  I  do  like 
it  better." 

"You  see  example  is  better  than  practice," 
said  Maggie,  meaning  "precept;"  "and  so 
'cause  Belle  was  good  and  kind  herself,  that 
put  you  in  a  mind  to  be  so  ;  and  that  ought  to 
make  you  very  happy,  Belle.  I  find  it  is  very 
true  that  if  '  evil  communications  corrupt  good 
manners,'  good  communications  also  corrupt 
evil  manners." 

Little  Belle  had  not  said  much  while  the 
others  were  talking  on  this  subject,  but  now 
she  said  quite  softly  to  Bessie,  — 

"  Bessie,  do  you  think  that  I  was  a  little 
sunbeam  to  Mabel  ?  You  know  I  said  I 
wouldn't  be  ;  but  papa  told  me  that  verse  out 


Found.  227 

of  the  Bible  'bout  our  Father  making  His  sun 
to  shine  on  the  evil  and  the  good,  and  he  said 
that  meant  we  ought  to  be  good  and  like  sun- 
shine to  everybody,  if  they  were  good  or  if 
they  were  bad." 

"  Yes :  I  do  think  you  were,  Belle," 
answered  Bessie  ;  "  and  I  b'lieve  our  Father 
was  very  pleased  with  you,  'cause  you  know 
Mabel  was  pretty  evil  when  she  first  came 
here  ;  and  it  was  very  hard  for  you,  most  of 
all  about  the  locket." 

"  Yes,"  said  Belle,  with  a  sigh ;  "  and  now 
I've  had  to  make  up  my  mind  never  to  find 
my  locket.  Papa  told  me  I  had  better.  He 
says  there  is  no  hope  of  finding  it  now." 

Meanwhile  Maggie  was  congratulating  Mabel 
still  further  on  her  improved  conduct. 

"  We're  very  glad,  Mabel,"  she  said,  "  that 
we  can  be  friends  with  you ;  for  we  wouldn't 
have  liked  you  to  be  '  a  heathen  man  and  a 
publican '  to  us.  We  wouldn't  like  to  be  in  that 
case  with  anybody,  but  '  specially  with  Belle's 
cousin,  '  cause  we're  so  very  fond  of  her." 


228  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

"  So  am  I,"  said  Mabel,  looking  affection* 
ately  over  at  Belle. 

And  this  was  true.  Mabel  had  really  learned 
to  love  Belle  dearly  and  to  trust  her  entirely  ; 
and,  what  was  still  better,  she  was  becoming 
anxious  to  copy  the  pretty  lady-like  behavior, 
ready  obedience,  and  sweet  unselfishness, 
which  she  saw  practised  in  the  daily  life  of 
her  cousin,  and  her  little  friends,  Maggie  and 
Bessie  Bradford. 

Not  that  it  must  be  thought  that  all  went 
smoothly  on  every  occasion.  Belle,  as  well  as 
Mabel,  had  a  firm  will  and  a  high  temper, 
and  she  had  been  much  indulged  and  some- 
what spoiled  by  her  father  and  nurse  ;  so  that 
now  and  then  the  two  children  would  fall  out 
about  some  trifle,  and  perhaps  have  some 
quick  words,  and,  it  might  be,  pout  and  sulk 
at  one  another  for  a  while.  But  Belle  was 
generally  mindful  of  the  "  sunshine  "  she  was 
to  shed  about  her,  and  so  was  soon  ready  to 
make  up  and  yield  the  disputed  point;  and 
then  Mabel  would  be  shamed  into  repentance, 


Found,  229 

and  there  would  be  harmony  and  peace 
between  them  once  more. 

Yes  :  little  Belle  had  truly  proved  a  "  sun- 
beam "  to  Mabel,  throwing  light  upon  the 
right  way,  and  not  only  pointing  it  out  to  her 
so  plainly  that  she  could  not  miss  it,  but  mak- 
ing it  look  so  bright  and  attractive  that  she 
turned  with  some  willingness  to  walk  there, 
pleased  to  follow  in  the  steps  of  her  little 
example. 

And  the  sunshine  which  she  set  herself  to 
shed  upon  Mabel's  way  was  reflected  farther 
still  on  all  about  them,  till  where  there  had 
been  discontent  and  weariness  now  reigned 
harmony  and  happiness  ;  and  all  was  peace. 

Dora  Johnson  was  a  fat,  chubby  little  thing, 
round  as  a  ball,  and  like  the  "  Dumpling  "  her 
school-mates  called  her  ;  looking  as  if  she  was 
never  troubled  by  a  pain  or  an  ache.  But  she 
was  subject  now  and  then  to  a  pain  and  ful- 
ness in  her  head,  for  which  the  best  remedy 
was  a  turn  in  the  open  air  ;  and  when  one  of 


230  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

these  attacks  came  on  in  school,  Miss  Ashton 
always  allowed  her  to  go  for  this,  knowing 
that  Dora  was  a  child  to  be  trusted,  who 
would  return  to  her  studies  as  soon  as  she 
was  able.  Taken  in  time,  they  passed  away 
soon  with  but  little  trouble,  and  her  kind 
teacher  was  watchful  to  prevent  them  as  far 
as  possible. 

"  Dora,  my  deais  does  your  head  trouble 
you?"  asked  Miss  Ashton,  as  she  saw  the 
child  press  her  hand  to  her  forehead,  while 
oer  face  flushed  suddenly. 

"  Yes'm,"  answered  Dors*,  dropping  her 
\>ook. 

"  Then  wrap  your  cloak  about  you  and  go 
\q:  a  turn  on  the  piazza  or  in  the  garden,  till 
yt>u  are  better,"  said  the  lady. 

Dora  gladly  obeyed,  thankful  for  the  relief 
which  the  fresh,  bracing  air  would  bring  to 
her  throbbing  head.  Going  for  her  cloak,  she 
threw  it  around  her,  ran  downstairs  and  out 
upon  the  piazza.  Her  step  was  light ;  and 
whatever    sound  her    little  feet    might  have 


Found.  231 

made  upon  the  floor  was  drowned  by  the  loud 
and  continuous  hammering  made  by  some 
workmen,  who  were  tinning  the  roof  of  a 
neighboring  house. 

Dora  walked  once  or  twice  the  length  of 
the  piazza,  and  was  beginning  to  feel  better, 
when  she  heard  the  sound  of  voices  below; 
and  presently  she  saw  the  cook  come  out  from 
the  kitchen-door,  followed  by  Marcia,  the 
colored  girl.  Cook  had  a  large  bundle  in  her 
arm,  and  was  evidently  going  out. 

A  door  in  the  side  of  the  garden-wall 
opened  upon  the  street  which  bounded  one 
side  of  it ;  and,  unfastening  this,  the  cook 
passed    out,  saying  to  Marcia, — 

"  Now  mind  and  keep  the  door  shut ;  and 
don't  you  be  poking  your  head  out,  and  leav 
ing  your  work." 

With  which  she  disappeared;  and  Marcia 
shut  and  bolted  the  door,  then  cut  one  or  two 
foolish  antics  as  though  she  were  pleased  to 
be  rid  of  her.  She  did  not  see  Dora ;  for  the 
end  of  the  piazza  where  the  little  girl  stood 


232  Belle  Powers*  Locket. 

looking  out  at  her  was  screened  by  a  lattice 
over  which  ran  a  vine.  There  were  no  leaves 
on  the  vine  now,  it  is  true ;  but  the  stems  and 
tendrils  helped  to  make  that  corner  a  good 
hiding-place  from  any  one  who  stood  below. 

Dora  had  no  thought  of  hiding  from  Marcia ; 
and  she  was  about  to  speak  to  her,  when  she 
saw  the  colored  girl,  after  looking  carefully 
about  her,  stoop  down,  and  with  a  bit  of  stick 
begin  to  poke  and  pry  between  the  stones  at 
the  bottom  of  the  wall,  which  was  somewhat 
out  of  repair  at  this  part,  and  showed  one  or 
two  large  cracks  running  along  just  above  the 
ground. 

"  What  can  she  be  doing  ?  "  thought  Dora  ; 
and  curiosity  held  her  silent  till  she  should 
see  what  Marcia  would  be  at. 

Though  hidden  herself,  she  could  see  the 
girl  very  well,  peeping  down  at  her,  as  she 
did,  through  the  lattice  and  the  vine. 

Marcia  pried  and  pried,  stopping  now  and 
then  to  look  about  her  and  listen,  as  if  afraid 
of  being  caught ;  and  at  last  fished  up  from 


Found.  233 

between  the  stones  something  glittering 
which  looked  like  —  was  it  possible  ?  —  Dora 
thought  it  looked  like  a  slender  chain  with 
something  hanging  to  it.  Could  it  be  ?  — 
was  it  —  Belle's  locket? 

She  darted  from  her  corner,  along  the 
piazza,  down  the  steps  leading  to  the  garden, 
and  around  to  the  side  of  the  wall  where 
Marcia  was ;  but  the  girl'  saw  and  heard  her 
coming,  and  before  she  reached  her  the  thing 
she  had  held  in  her  hand  was  dropped  again 
into  its  hiding-place  between  the  stones. 

Yet  not  so  quickly  but  that  Dora  saw  the  mo- 
tion of  Marcia's  hand,  and  she  was  more  than 
ever  convinced  that  something  was  wrong. 

They  stood  and  faced  one  another,  the  little 
lady  and  the  colored  girl :  the  former,  stern 
and  indignant,  as  became  one  who  had  caught 
a  culprit  in  the  act ;  the  other,  sheepish  and 
guilty,  wriggling  her  shoulders  uneasily,  and 
not  daring  to  meet  the  eye  which  accused  her. 

"  Give  me  that,"  said  Dora,  severely. 

"  Give   you   what,   Miss    Johnson  ? "    said 


234  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

Marcia,  twisting  and  wriggling  more  than 
ever  and  vainly  trying  to  put  on  an  air  of 
innocence. 

"  What  you  had  in  your  hand.  I  b'lieve 
you've  put  it  back  in  the  wall,  but  you'll  have 
to  let  me  see  it,"  said  Dora. 

"  I  ain't  got  nothin',  Miss ;  and  I  s'pect 
Miss  Ash  ton  wants  you.  I  hear  her  callin'," 
said  Marcia. 

"  She's  not  calling,  and  if  she  was  I  wouldn't 
go  till  I  knew  what  that  was,"  answered  Dora, 
firmly.  "  She'll  excuse  me  when  I  tell  her 
why." 

Marcia  persisted,  and  insisted  that  she  had 
had  nothing  in  her  hand ;  but  Dora  knew 
better.  And  though  the  girl  tried  every  device 
to  rid  herself  of  the  young  lady,  she  was  not 
to  be  moved.  She  would  mount  guard  over 
that  hidden  thing  till  she  learned  what  it  was, 
if  she  stood  there  all  day. 

Equally  determined  was  Marcia ;  but  she 
coaxed  and  threatened  and  tried  to  frighten 
in  vain.     Dora  was  a  child  of  too  much  sense 


Found.  235 

to  be  at  all  disturbed  by  the  stories  she  told 
of  what  would  happen  to  her ;  treated  with 
scorn  all  the  bribes  which  Marcia  promised ; 
and  repeated  over  and  over  again  her  resolu- 
tion not  to  stir  till  she  saw  what  was  in  that 
crack. 

As  for  Miss  Ashton  coming  for  her,  it  was 
just  what  Dora  wished  for :  she  could  tell  her 
teacher,  and  leave  the  matter  in  her  hands, 
sure  that  she  would  find  means  of  coming  at 
the  truth.  And  now  there  was  Nelly  Ran- 
som's voice  making  itself  heard. 

"  Dora !  Dora  !  Where  are  you  ?  Miss 
Ashton  wants  to  know  if  you  are  worse." 

"  Come  here,  Nelly,"  said  Dora ;  while 
Marcia  grew  more  and  more  uneasy  as  she 
found  the  toils  of  her  own  wickedness  closing 
down  and  down  upon  her.  "  You  go  and  ask 
Miss  Ashton  to  come  here  very  quick.  I've 
made  a  great  discovery.     Make  haste." 

Nelly  obeyed,  wondering  much ;  and  Miss 
Ashton,  rather  alarmed,  speedily  appeared  on 
the  spot. 


236  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

Marcia,  seeing  that  all  was  lost  now,  did 
not  wait  for  her  wickedness  to  be  revealed ; 
but,  as  the  young  lady  came  down  the  steps, 
shot  away  around  the  other  side  of  the  house 
and  out  of  sight. 

Dora's  story  was  soon  told,  and  the  crack 
pointed  out ;  in  another  moment  the  little  girl 
and  her  teacher  were  busy  following  Marcia' s 
example,  and  with  bits  of  crooked  stick  trying 
to  poke  out  the  hidden  "  shiny  thing,"  as 
Dora  called  it,  —  not  yet  sure  enough  to  say 
the  locket. 

"  Oh !  Miss  Ashton,"  said  the  excited  child, 
"  I  feel  something, — I  do,  I  do ! "  and  the  next 
moment  she  drew  up  with  her  hooked  stick 
—  the  locket !  —  yes,  Belle's  long-lost  locket ! 

Dora's  joy  and  exultation  knew  no  bounds ; 
and  she  would  have  rushed  away  with  it  to  the 
school-room  at  once,  had  not  Miss  Ashton 
stopped  her. 

"  Let  me  be  the  one  to  take  it  to  Belle. 
Oh  !  do,  Miss  Ashton.  I  was  the  finder  out," 
said  the  child. 


Fotnid.  237 

"  Yes,  you  shall  give  it  to  her  ;  but  I  cannot 
have  the  class  excited  and  disturbed  just  now," 
said  the  lady.  "  Besides,  I  want  to  know  how 
this  came  here." 

"  But,  Miss  Ashton,"  said  Dora,  "  I  don't 
think  I  could  keep  it  in.  And  then  Mabel, 
poor  Mabel !  you  wouldn't  let  any  one  think 
she  stole  it  a  minute  longer,  would  you  ?  Oh ! 
I  am  so  sorry  I  believed  it  of  her,  and  was  so 
ugly  to  her  about  it." 

There  was  reason  in  Dora's  words  ;  and 
Miss  Ashton,  knowing  that  the  curiosity  of 
her  young  flock  must  already  be  excited, 
concluded  to  let  her  reveal  her  prize,  although 
she  felt  sure  that  there  would  be  little  more 
study  that  morning  if  she  did  so. 

It  was  singular  how  the  locket  should  have 
come  into  Marcia's  possession,  and  she  did  not 
yet  feel  that  Mabel  was  quite  cleared.  But 
she  gave  Dora  leave  to  make  her  good  news 
known,  and  to  restore  the  locket  to  Belle. 

Away  rushed  Dora,  and  running  into  the 
school-room  held  aloft  her  prize,  crying  out,  — 


238  Belle  Powers"  Locket. 

"  Found  !  Found  !  and  I  did  it,  Belle  and 
Mabel  I "' 

■  Miss  Ashton  following  close  on  Dora's  steps 
found  her  class  in  quite  as  much  commotion 
as  she  had  expected.  Belle,  with  the  recovered 
locket  held  fast  in  her  little  hands,  was  cover- 
ing it  with  kisses,  while  tears  and  smiles  were 
struggling  for  the  mastery.  She  flew  into 
Miss  Ashton' s  arms  the  moment  she  appeared, 
but  could  find  no  words  for  all  that  was  in 
her  heart. 

But  this  could  not  be  said  for  any  of  the 
others ;  for  questions  and  exclamations  were 
poured  forth  in  such  numbers  that  it  was 
impossible  to  answer  them  all,  and  in  spite 
of  Miss  Ashton's  warning  "  Sh  !  sh  !  "  there 
arose  such  a  Babel  of  young  voices  that  Mrs. 
Ashton  opened  the  door  of  her  room  and 
asked  the  cause  of  the  uproar. 

A  sudden  hush  fell  upon  the  little  ones 
when  her  voice  was  heard ;  and  then  Miss 
Ashton  told  in  a  few  words  where  and  how 
the  locket  had  been  found. 


Found.  239 

Belle  waited  till  she  was  through,  and  then 
slipping  from  her  teacher's  lap  ran  over  to 
Mabel,  who  sat  sobbing  at  her  desk  ;  and  the 
two  little  cousins  put  their  arms  about  one 
another  in  a  loving,  congratulatory  clasp. 

"  Oh  !  Mabel,"  said  Belle,  "  I  am  so  glad  I 
b'lieved  you  didn't  have  it.  I  would  feel  so 
bad  if  I  had." 

"  I'm  so  glad  it's  come  out,"  sobbed  Mabel, 
with  a  look  and  tone  which  went  far  towards 
convincing  Miss  Ashton  that  the  child's  story 
had  really  been  true,  and  that,  however  mys- 
terious it  now  seemed,  Marcia  in  some  way 
had  obtained  possession  of  the  locket  without 
Mabel's  knowledge. 

"  So  am  I,"  said  Dora,  who  had  been  one 
of  the  most  forward  in  believing  Mabel  guilty  ; 
"  and  I'm  so  sorry  I  was  hateful  to  you  about 
it,  Mabel.  I'll  make  up  to  you  for  it  as  long 
as  I  live  !     See  if  I  don't." 

Congratulations  were  showered  on  both  of 
the  little  cousins  ;  and  Belle's  pleasure  in  the 
recovery  of  her  locket  was  increased  tenfold 
by  knowing  that  Mabel  was  cleared. 


240  Belle  Powers'  Locket, 

For  when,  after  some  difficulty,  Marcia  was 
forced  to  confess  how  she  had  come  by  the 
locket,  she  said  that  on  the  day  when  she  had 
been  allowed  to  go  to  her  sick  sister,  she  had 
forgotten  a  bundle  she  was  to  take  with  her, 
and  returned  for  it.  Finding  the  gate  unfas- 
tened, she  came  in  without  ringing,  entered 
the  house,  and  went  up  to  her  room  without 
notice.  But  on  the  way  up  she  saw  Mabel 
run  out  from  the  school-room  into  the  cloak- 
room, and  peeping  at  her  through  the  crack 
of  the  door  saw  her  throw  down  some  glitter- 
ing object  and  cover  it  with  her  hat  and  sacque. 
She  passed  on  her  way ;  but,  as  she  came 
down,  was  tempted  to  go  in  and  see  what  the 
young  lady  had  been  hiding.  At  first  it  was 
only  curiosity ;  but  when  she  saw  the  pretty 
thing,  the  wish  to  ha^  °  it  came  over  her,  and, 
the  temptation  proving  too  strong,  she  snatched 
it  up,  put  the  cloak  and  hat  as  she  had  found 
them,  and  ran  away  out  of  the  house  as  quiet- 
ly as  possible,  no  one  knowing  that  she  had 
returned.     But  she  dared  not  let  any  one  see 


Found.  24X 

the  locket,  and  she  had  put  it  for  safe  hiding  in 
the  crack  in  the  wall,  whence  she  could  take 
it  out  once  in  a  while  and  look  at  it.  But  it 
had  been  more  trouble  than  pleasure  to  her ; 
for  Marcia  had  been  taught  better,  and  found 
truly  that  "  the  way  of  transgressors  is  hard." 
She  was  not  very  penitent  now,  but  very 
much  frightened,  believing  that  she  would  be 
sent  to  prison.  This  was  not  done  of  course  ; 
but  Marcia' s  sin  had  deprived  her  of  a  good 
home  and  its  comforts.  Mrs.  Ashton  would 
have  kept  her,  and  still  tried  to  do  her  good, 
if  she  had  not  had  her  young  pupils  to  consid- 
er ;  but  Marcia  had  been  much  given  to  pil- 
fering of  late  ;  and  this  fault,  so  serious  in  any 
place,  was  particularly  so  in  a  school.  So 
Marcia  must  go,  in  spite  of  all  her  promises, 
—  promises  made  so  often  before,  and  so  often 
broken.  Mrs.  and  Miss  Ashton  still  kept  an 
eye  upon  her,  and  did  what  they  could  to 
befriend  her ;  but  she  lost  much  through  a 
sin  which  had  brought  her  not  the  smallest 
pleasure. 


242  Belle  Powers'  Locket. 

And  now  we  will  say  good-by  for  a  while 
to  Belle  and  Mabel ;  hoping  that  the  latter, 
profiting  by  the  lessons  and  example  set 
before  her,  may  also  learn  to  draw  light  and 
brightness  from  the  Sun  of  Righteousness, 
and  herself  prove  a  little  sunbeam  to  all 
about  her  path. 


53"  Broadway,  New  York, 
October,  1880. 


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